e-pass: do rental car companies let you use your own?

[nezy]

Do car rental companies let you use your own transponder?
I am considering purchasing an e-pass. When we are in florida we drive to Miami, west palm Beach and over to the west coast on i-75. At several points on the roads we drive there are cash less tolls. I do not want to get the rental car company's option for paying the tolls but would rather have my own e-pass transponder. I know they have one that can be moved from car to car and that you have to contact e-pass to give them the car info that will be using the transponder.

As per the Central Florida Expressway q and a:
If you own an E-PASS Portable, you could move it to the rental car provided that you inform the rental car agency that you’re using it in their vehicle. You also must update your account information with the rental vehicle’s license plate number.

To me that sounds like you need permission so rather than me call every rental car company just wondering if anyone knows if a rental car comp would NOT let you use your own?

 

[WeLuvTink!]

Last winter we bought a Florida Sunpass (transponder) for use in Florida and used it in a Hertz rental over spring break. Worked great. Just be sure to register the car's license plate into your online Sunpass account. I didn't tell the rental car company but that's probably a good idea...just in case. Florida turnpikes also use Platepass that can bill tolls based on your license plate. All the tolls showed up properly on our Sunpass account, and Hertz never billed us for any tolls or anything.

 

[nezy]

Last winter we bought a Florida Sunpass (transponder) for use in Florida and used it in a Hertz rental over spring break. Worked great. Just be sure to register the car's license plate into your online Sunpass account. I didn't tell the rental car company but that's probably a good idea...just in case. Florida turnpikes also use Platepass that can bill tolls based on your license plate. All the tolls showed up properly on our Sunpass account, and Hertz never billed us for any tolls or anything.

How did you register the plate? Did you go online or did you call?

 

[joelkfla]

To me that sounds like you need permission

No, you just need to let them know at the time you rent so that they don't charge you for their program. Theoretically, your transponder should override the toll-by-plate charges, but telling them in advance is a good idea. Also, Some rental cars have a transponder in them that needs to be switched off if you're using your own.

How did you register the plate? Did you go online or did you call?

You can do it either way. Be sure to delete the rental car after you return it.

 

[goofy4tink]

I have Sunpass. I go into my account, online, and plug in the rental car's plate number. Just have to remember to remove it when you return the car!!

 

[WeLuvTink!]

How did you register the plate? Did you go online or did you call?

Went online. Logged into the site on my phone. Only took a few minutes.

 

[TheRoyalPaynes]

No need to tell the rental car company. Most rental car companies farm out toll charges to a third party (Platepass etc) and never see the actual charges. If, for any reason, you had to dispute the toll charges, you wouldn't call the rental car company, you'd have to go through the third party.

 

[Capt_BJ]

discussed on the sunpass rental car page

with sunpass there is an app that allows to to add the rental tag in about 1 minute .... dunno if E-PASS has this. E-PASS is the orlando area system which DOES work statewaide, but is different from the state's system SUNPASS

technical discussion of why you want to register the tag in the system .... simplified version of how the systems work

what happens when you go thru an electronic toll gate?

1. Does the gate see a transponder? If yes process the toll, case closed. If no then continue:

2. Check the database of tags 'linked to transponders', if found process the toll, case closed. If no then continue:

3. Check database for tags 'fleet registered' (this is where most rentals are found), if found pass to the appropriate fleet system (third party companies that handle the transactions for rental cars/trucks and other special cases, note that different rental companies have different companies that do this processing and different fees for this 'service'). If no continue.

4. From here what happens depends on what kind of a toll road you are on. If the toll road is 'electronic toll only' the system will send a monthly bill to the registered owner (aka toll by plate) with a small admin fee. This is how many roads around Miami work. If the road has toll booths - the option to pay cash - you have 'run' the toll and can get a fine .... altho I've heard of folks making a booboo and never hearing from the state. Around Orlando there ARE booths and you can pay cash. A few exits are not attended tho so you need exact change .....

(something they don't tell you .... because of step 2, which exists to avoid or handle the occasional transponder booboo .... so long as you have the tag 'linked' to a valid transponder, the transponder doesn't even need to be in the car! Ask me how I know ..... found dd's transponder in her room where it had been for months but all tolls were properly appearing on the bill)

https://www.sunpass.com/rentalcar

***** for OP's question of just wondering if anyone knows if a rental car comp would NOT let you use your own?

The SUNPASS site I mentioned says all the major rental companies are using the 'fleet systems' I mentioned. I've seen folks say they had a rental with a physical transponder. I've not had or seen a rental with a physical transponder in at least 6 years.

IF a rental had a physical transponder AND you had your own it is possible both could be charged. If this happened you can easily pull the record of tolls paid via your transponder as 'proof'.

 

[joelkfla]

4. From here what happens depends on what kind of a toll road you are on. If the toll road is 'electronic toll only' the system will send a monthly bill to the registered owner (aka toll by plate) with a small admin fee. This is how many roads around Miami work. If the road has toll booths - the option to pay cash - you have 'run' the toll and can get a fine .... altho I've heard of folks making a booboo and never hearing from the state. Around Orlando there ARE booths and you can pay cash. A few exits are not attended tho so you need exact change .....

An update:

Last year, E-pass discontinued issuing citations, except to habitual violators. According to their web site, they now do toll-by-plate at all CFX-operated toll collection points, so if a car doesn't pay cash and doesn't have a transponder, the registered owner will just get billed. Of course, in a rental car, you'll be billed by their toll servicer at the rental company's rates, which may include hefty admin charges.

This is not the case at Sunpass toll point operated by the Turnpike Enterprise. They only do toll-by-plate billing at cashless locations.

PayTollo is still an option for cashless tolls without a transponder. I presume signing up with them puts your plate on their fleet list, because they say it still works even if your phone is turned off or out of range.

 

[mdsd8700]

discussed on the sunpass rental car page

The SUNPASS site I mentioned says all the major rental companies are using the 'fleet systems' I mentioned. I've seen folks say they had a rental with a physical transponder. I've not had or seen a rental with a physical transponder in at least 6 years.

IF a rental had a physical transponder AND you had your own it is possible both could be charged. If this happened you can easily pull the record of tolls paid via your transponder as 'proof'.

We rented from Budget for the first time in Orlando in Mid march of this year. Our rental car had a transponder on it that seemed to have an "on/off" lever. We have a Sunpass account and always rent a car and as others have mentioned just input the plate number online to register the car with our account. I didn't know the car from Budget would have a transponder in it, but upon seeing it in the car with the on/off lever thought I could put into the off position, however that did not work. I was charged by both the rental company as well as a deduction from our Sunpass account. After our trip, I called Budget to inquire and was told all their cars have the transponder and although it looks like they can be switched off, they cannot (or at least ours couldn't). It was a fairly easy fix, but did require a phone call and e-mail. Sun pass said they would credit the charges from Budget once they were charged to my credit card account. So I had to wait for the charges to post, send a copy via e-mail of the charges requesting a refund and then Sunpass credited the tolls from Budget via the same form of payment as the rental car.

We had a family member rent a car from Budget on the same trip, they also have a Sunpass account, the transponder in rental car must not have been active or didn't work because they had no charges from Budget for their tolls, only deductions from their Sunpass account. Like I said per Budget customer service all their cars have the transponder in them, but don't know that for certain but with our limited experience they did, but only one of them seem to work.

 

[hsmamato2]

I have Sunpass. I go into my account, online, and plug in the rental car's plate number. Just have to remember to remove it when you return the car!!

this sounds easy- so it automatically overrides the rental companies thingy? I have a car for a week in west palm beach area and I not sure which is cheaper, I think rental place charges 3.00 per day for the transponder

 

[Tricia819]

We're going to WDW in October and I don't want to pay the rental car company's ridiculous charges. Can you get to Disney without having to go on toll roads or should I get a sunpass? If I get a sunpass can I pick one up in Florida for immediate use or does it have to be registered 24 hours in advance?

 

[Woodview]

We're going to WDW in October and I don't want to pay the rental car company's ridiculous charges. Can you get to Disney without having to go on toll roads or should I get a sunpass? If I get a sunpass can I pick one up in Florida for immediate use or does it have to be registered 24 hours in advance?

Question for you .... Are you going to drive further than say 20 miles, AT ANY one time , away from Disney

Area after you have driven from Airport ? If not then NO NEED to BUY SUNPASS .

FROM Airport to Disney you can PAY CASH at Toll Booths .. ..

JUST stay in Right Lane & Follow GREEN Light to pay booth ( Total Charges about $ 8 each way )

After that there are very few Toll charges UNLESS you are driving to Miami on Turnpike

AVOID STAYING & DRIVING IN SUN PASS LANE .( Clearly Marked )

CASH at Toll Booths is King

 

[OKW Lover]

I have Sunpass. I go into my account, online, and plug in the rental car's plate number. Just have to remember to remove it when you return the car!!

Last time I did that there was an option that would automatically expire the rental registration - you just entered an end date/time. Its been three+ years now since I rented in FL, did that change?

 

[PatMcDuck]

Not advocating this, but the last couple of times I used my own SunPass on a rental from MCO, I did not register the car and it was fine. I have registered the rental car in the past, but it is not always easy. Inside the garage, I usually cannot get a signal to get on the app. Once I was able to do it when there was a long line to exit, lol. But if no line, I need to pull over to do it, and there is no easy place. I did go into the Cell phone lot once, but it was near 11 pm, I was alone, and it was creepy out there. And took me awhile to get into the app for some reason.

If I was a passenger, or had a passenger who could do it for me, no problem, but I am usually alone or with my special needs son, who cannot do it for me.

In NJ, with EZPASS, they want you to register cars on your account, and there are advantages to doing so (if the tag fails to register, it scans license plate and usually just charges the account, OR you get a letter and give your tag info, and no ticket).

 

[goofy4tink]

Last time I did that there was an option that would automatically expire the rental registration - you just entered an end date/time. Its been three+ years now since I rented in FL, did that change?

No idea Jeff...I'll let you know in a week!!!!

 

[Tricia819]

Question for you .... Are you going to drive further than say 20 miles, AT ANY one time , away from Disney

Area after you have driven from Airport ? If not then NO NEED to BUY SUNPASS .

FROM Airport to Disney you can PAY CASH at Toll Booths .. ..

JUST stay in Right Lane & Follow GREEN Light to pay booth ( Total Charges about $ 8 each way )

After that there are very few Toll charges UNLESS you are driving to Miami on Turnpike

AVOID STAYING & DRIVING IN SUN PASS LANE .( Clearly Marked )

CASH at Toll Booths is King

Driving from Michigan, but staying on property once we get there.

 

[NotUrsula]

Driving from Michigan, but staying on property once we get there.

You will probably be using the Turnpike from I-75/Ocala down to FL417/Osceola Parkway. You certainly are not required to buy a Sunpass, but it's convenient to have and gives you a slight discount on the toll. That particular toll is about $5 each way.

As to not encountering tolls if you are not driving further than 20 miles from WDW ... that depends. If you are staying in the Animal Kingdom Resort Area (AK Lodge, Coronado, or All-Stars), and you are the kind of folks who like to be able to run off-property to shop and dine sometimes, you may encounter more tolls. The Western Way entrance to WDW property is very convenient, but dumps you out onto SR429, aka the Western Beltway Toll Road, in order to take you south the fast way to the western end of 192 (W. Irlo Bronson Rd.). There are a Publix, a Target, a Wawa and several restaurants there. However, there is also rather nasty traffic there if you want to avoid the toll road and take 192 and Sherberth Rd. back onto property. SR429 is usually empty and a 10-minute drive to Publix from CSR or AKL, but going there via W. Irlo Bronson can take nearly an hour from the property line if you hit traffic, which you nearly always will on Irlo Bronson.
(The toll on that short stretch of SR429 is $.75, but it's unmanned, so you really need a Sunpass to make it convenient.)

PS: Yes, you can fill in an "end date/time" on your Sunpass account online to correspond to the date you leave, so you only have to go online once per trip. (I make it a practice to walk back over by the garage elevator to enter the plate using the airport wi-fi before I leave the garage, since I also never can get a phone signal inside that place. The wi-fi, however, is still reachable near the elevators.)

 

[OKW Lover]

You will probably be using the Turnpike from I-75/Ocala down to FL417/Osceola Parkway.

I believe you mean 429.