when we were in Florida last week we picked up our car from Dollar at Sandford, at the time the desk clerk asked if we wanted to buy a sunpass, without thinking I just said no , but after being caught in some lenthy Qs at the tolls it now seems like a good idea.
Has anyone ever bought one? and do you know how much they cost? as the cost of tolls seems to be rising all the time especially if you are going back to Sandford on the 417
Around $5 or $25 plus tax from PUBLIX etc. I've got one just to save time since I hate Q's
There are two types, see http://www.sunpass.com/MiniWebPDF_E.pdf
Am I right in thinking the $25 one actually has no credit in it ? and how do you know if you have any credit left in it , in case you go through a toll and end up with a toll penlty?
I considered this the last time I was out there, but a few people who live there advised against it as they're not the most reliable and often they won't register it as you drive through.........then you'll get a ticket and have to go through all the motions to sort it out.
Seemed like potentially too much hassle for a non resident, has anyone had any trouble using one?
Just read this article which states that with 5 of the rental companies (Avis, Budget, Dollar, Thrifty and Hertz) you don't need a sunpass, as the toll recognises the vehicle and you will be billed by the rental car company. Looks like it costs a bit extra to do it, but might be worth it as it reduces hassle all round.
http://www.tollroadsnews.com/node/3155
<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Just read this article which states that with 5 of the rental companies (Avis, Budget, Dollar, Thrifty and Hertz) you don't need a sunpass, as the toll recognises the vehicle and you will be billed by the rental car company. Looks like it costs a bit extra to do it, but might be worth it as it reduces hassle all round.[/quote]
There was a sticker in my car(Budget) saying you could use the Express lane as the car was registered.
You would be charged $2.50 a day plus the costs of the tolls - debited to your credit card.
I assume that would be for every day of your hire - not just the days you went through a Toll????
I normally go for 3 weeks and only go through the SR528 toll twice - to and from the airport. So it would cost me $55.50.
<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by Robert5988
I assume that would be for every day of your hire - not just the days you went through a Toll????[/quote]
According to the article, depending on the rental company, it's either a charge per day on days you go through a toll, or a flat charge per day/week for unlimited toll usage. Best to check with the rental companies though to check.
As long as you don't need to pay everyday, then I'd be happy to pay $2.50 on days I use tolls to avoid waiting in sometimes very long queues........the good thing is it gives you the choice, if there's no queue you can just go through a normal till and pay cash.
<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:ATS PlatePass will enrol all vehicles of the three rental car companies (Avis, Budget, Hertz) automatically. PlatePass will bill the car renters' credit cards by the amount of tolls plus a daily fee of $2.00 to $2.50 levied on days when a toll charge is incurred by the car renter.
Rent A Toll's Pass24 on Dollar and Thrify cars will provide coverage of unlimited tolls for a flat daily fee of $5.95 or aweekly $27.95 for the time the car is rented.[/quote]
We've had a $25 one for a few years now. We have it set to top up automatically on low balance from our local bank account. Never had a missed toll on it and never bothered to update for different hire car.
You can track your account and transactions online, although these sometimes take a day or two to come through. You must remember to disable it for airport parking.
We normally take ours home and then it's one of the first things we do when we pick up new hire car on arrival, it comes with a little silver foil bag so it doesn't pick up ant stray signals when not in the car.
Zander Buchan
www.orlandovillas.com/villas/109.aspx
If you visit Florida frequently (and especially if you have a US bank account to link to)it's well worth buying the $25 Sunpass from Publix / Walmart etc. (Avoid the cheaper "mini" pass which sticks firmly to car windscreen and can't be transferred between cars) The larger one has rubber suckers and can be removed easily. We bought one a few years back and have had no problems. (I changed the battery after 3 years just to be sure but I think the old one still had plenty of life in it!![msnsmile])
If you go infrequently it's worth considering the car hire option to include the Sunpass as it certaily saves lots of time at the toll booths (especially now that they have altered many of the roads to the "straight through" option where the sensors are on gantries over the road and you only need to divert to the booths if you need to pay.
Kevin
Thanks for those replies, good to hear that the system does work everytime, might invest in the $25 box next time I'm out there then as that way after the one off payment it's ready to go.
Is the box assigned to the registration of the rental car? And if so, do you need to remove that reg when you return it? (obviously if you bring the box back to the UK it can't be a huge issue but just thought I'd ask)
Not sure if this is a silly question, but you know how some of the tolls say "Sunpass" on them, some say "EPass" and can't remember if there is a third - do you need separate units to go through the different tolls or will for example a Sunpass unit work through any toll?
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
Bookmarks