A bit confused about Tolls? Have things changed?

[capriccio]

Very open-minded. If all the tourists take your advice, you'll have to pay for your own services instead of dumping this on tourists.

 

I don't understand the 'dumping this on tourists' comment. Do you think Florida residents never use the toll roads? Just last week we drove the length of Alligator Alley westbound (toll road) and the Turnpike eastbound from I-75 through Orlando to Palm Beach County. I'm grateful the toll roads are there especially for east/west travel.

 

You probably don't want to be a tourist traveling through New Jersey. You'll have to avoid I-95/New Jersey Turnpike, the Garden State Parkway and all the bridges over the Hudson River.

[NoWhiners]

I don't understand the 'dumping this on tourists' comment. Do you think Florida residents never use the toll roads? Just last week we drove the length of Alligator Alley westbound (toll road) and the Turnpike eastbound from I-75 through Orlando to Palm Beach County. I'm grateful the toll roads are there especially for east/west travel.

 

You probably don't want to be a tourist traveling through New Jersey. You'll have to avoid I-95/New Jersey Turnpike, the Garden State Parkway and all the bridges over the Hudson River.

 

 

No, I quite agree that the tolls hit Florida residents also (and there is a price for no income tax too). I was just returning the tone of the guy saying tourists should stay home

 

I grew up in NY and completely agree about tolls in NY and NJ. I think that is where I learned my healthy dislike of tolls. It was a revelation when we moved west and discovered that toll roads were almost non-existent--there are a few in places but they are uncommon.

 

Peace :)

[nbsjcruiser]

Hi

 

We've not driven in USA for a while. When we've rented cars we've just stopped at any toll roads and paid cash - is this still an option?

 

We will be picking up a hire car near Port Everglades and driving up to Orlando for a week - back and forth between Davenport and the theme parks basically - and then dropping the car off at Miami airport.

 

Are we able to pay cash at tolls?

Would a pass from the hire car company be worth it for our journey plans?

Best route to take?

How much are the tolls now so we can have change?

 

I've looked at a few sites on this and even more confused - so any help will be gratefully appreciated :-)

 

South Florida (FLL, Miami) is easy to get around and easy to avoid tolls. Stick to the I95 and there will be no tolls other than on the express lanes and they are easily avoided - you'll have plenty of opportunity to avoid them. Worse comes to worse, you can get off the 95 and take route 1. Don't give the rental car companies such easy money. They refund you nothing if you don't use the tolls - talk about a scam. If you're still insisting on a sunpass or want to use toll roads, buy your own sunpass and when you go home, bring it with you. You can use it next time you're in Florida. Also, if you have a GPS or data plan on your phone, use that as your map and tell it to avoid tolls. We've driven so much in Fll/Miami area now, I dont need my GPS 99% of the time but when I do, I set it to avoid tolls and problem solved. Getting to Orlando via the 95 should be a joke.

Edited April 1, 2018 by nbsjcruiser

[Underwatr]

p.s. update about E-ZPASS in Florida:

 

The E-ZPass Group, a consortium of toll roads and bridges across the eastern United States, announced today that the Central Florida Expressway Authority (CFX) will be the first toll agency in Florida to accept E-ZPass for payment of tolls on designated Florida toll roads owned and operated by CFX in the Metro Orlando region.

Beginning in early Spring 2018, the more than 35 million E-ZPass customers in 16 states — from Maine to North Carolina and west through Illinois — will experience the convenience of nonstop travel in Metro Orlando without fumbling for change at toll gantries.

What's the date of that announcement? I understood it to be delayed by years.

 

Edit - ok, announced last November, so maybe it's happening now. I have both a Sunpass (FL) and an EZ-Pass (Northeast) so it's mostly a matter of whether to maintain both accounts.

Edited April 1, 2018 by Underwatr

[Dillbox]

And if you use the Florida Turnpike, there is no option to pay in cash. It has to be billed to the vehicle.

 

I should add, also down near Miami if you use the Hov lanes, they also bill the vehicle.

 

 

This info is wrong, the turnpike has booths you can pay at. Be careful certain exits going south bound have cashless exits before the toll plaza.

[Capt_BJ]

This info is wrong, the turnpike has booths you can pay at. Be careful certain exits going south bound have cashless exits before the toll plaza.

 

South of the Dade / Broward county line, the portion of the Turnpike commonly referred to as the Turnpike Extension, IS cashless ... there are NO toll plazas, everything is electronic or 'toll by plate'

 

ditto all the toll roads in the greater Miami area which are NOT part of the turnpike, but are Miami Dade Highway Authority

 

*****************

 

greater Orlando and Tampa are different stories ....

[Underwatr]

That echoes my thought. There are a lot of cashless toll roads in the greater Mami/Fort Lauderdale area (and northern suburbs). I think it would take a bit of planning to avoid them, plus the extra time involved.

[knbcruisers]

I don’t understand why someone would be willing to pay a daily extra fee to the rental company? You can purchase a portable ezpass unit online and set up an account easily. Then you would be able to use that anytime in FL in the future. And if ezpass is expanding to other states that is even better. We purchased a unit from Maryland years ago and use it from VA to Maine every year.

 

 

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[Underwatr]

As I said I have a SunPass, but it does tie up whatever the recharge value is for the pass ($20?) so if I was visiting from the UK for example I'd just buck up and pay the rental agency fees.

 

Also, SunPass doesn't have a maintenance fee but my EZ Pass has a $3 annual fee which is invisible among normal usage but would eat up the balance over time if I used it once every few years.

[SteerageJoe]

Unless you are in a hurry it is super easy to avoid Florida tolls and see more of the state at the same time. It appears the OP will have plenty of time to get around so I would just set my phone or GPS to avoid tolls then forget about it!!

 

In 3 years of traveling up and down Florida including more than a 1000 miles this year already in our RV we have yet to pay a single toll.

 

 

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[thinfool]

Sunpass...

 

The portable sunpass is $19.99+tax, and a $10. initial balance (via CC). Refunds are also available. Minimum recharge is $10.

 

A non-US visitor will pay substantially more than that to the rental companies for their service charge.

 

There is a Sunpass app for smartphones (free) and it takes 15 minutes or so to set up a first time account with the transponder number and credit card so it is active. (via wifi)

 

Lots of info at http://www.sunpass.com

[BNBR]

As an example, Enterprise charges a $3.95 fee for each day that you use it for a toll (plus cost of tolls). Personally, I think this is more than reasonable and just about the last thing I'd be concerning myself with on vacation. Any days you don't go through a toll, no fee. I couldn't imagine going through the effort of getting my own transponder, setting it up, bring it with me, etc... to save $4, eventually, since the transponder costs $20 and has a $10 minimum toll.

 

So my answer is pretty simple... Rental car companies offer toll programs for a reasonable price, it's simple since there is nothing the renter needs to do to set it up (cars have license plates already), and there is no reason to put much thought or worry into it when traveling to Florida.

[CruiserBruce]

So my answer is pretty simple... Rental car companies offer toll programs for a reasonable price, it's simple since there is nothing the renter needs to do to set it up (cars have license plates already), and there is no reason to put much thought or worry into it when traveling to Florida.

 

Amen. It is as simple as that.

[Underwatr]

Another downside of rental companies' toll pass programs is that they bill you the highest undiscounted toll even when the car is equipped with a transponder that lowers the actual toll considerably (say 30%) and then add a fee on top of that.

[Bkchero]

I have driven the turnpike more time than I can count between Miami and Orlando. Other than basic maintenance, absolutely nothing is noticeably or appreciably upgraded or new. If they are using the funds to maintain and build roads other than the turnpike, than I'm not exaggerating at all, because the funds were supposed to be FOR the turnpike.

 

Florida has more toll roads than any other State. They went nuts with it.

 

They have upgraded many if not all of the rest stop buildings. Much nicer and cleaner inside. They have added a few entrances and exits (Southern Blvd. in WPB was added w/in the past few years). I also believe they are expanding between downtown Orlando and the St. Cloud exits b/c of the continuing Orlando sprawl.

 

Having said that I too despise the fact that when the TPK was first created the politicians said that the tolls would only remain until it was paid for . . And they lied. Should we be surprised that they are all thieves? There was a story in the Miami Herald maybe 15 years ago that said that 60% of the toll money came from Dade Broward and Palm Beach counties, but almost all of it was spent north of there. Given that the majority of tolls in the south are from residents, that seems totally ridiculous.

 

Of course, we foist all kinds of taxes on tourists. Hotel taxes, rental car taxes, etc. But what does that get spent on? Sports stadiums. Absurd.

 

All of this to avoid a state income tax. . .

[BNBR]

They have upgraded many if not all of the rest stop buildings. Much nicer and cleaner inside. They have added a few entrances and exits (Southern Blvd. in WPB was added w/in the past few years). I also believe they are expanding between downtown Orlando and the St. Cloud exits b/c of the continuing Orlando sprawl.

 

Having said that I too despise the fact that when the TPK was first created the politicians said that the tolls would only remain until it was paid for . . And they lied. Should we be surprised that they are all thieves? There was a story in the Miami Herald maybe 15 years ago that said that 60% of the toll money came from Dade Broward and Palm Beach counties, but almost all of it was spent north of there. Given that the majority of tolls in the south are from residents, that seems totally ridiculous.

 

Of course, we foist all kinds of taxes on tourists. Hotel taxes, rental car taxes, etc. But what does that get spent on? Sports stadiums. Absurd.

 

All of this to avoid a state income tax. . .

 

The rest stops are busy commercial buildings with lots of tenants who pay rent. Unlike I95 which has no tolls and public, non commercial facilities.

[Bkchero]

The rest stops are busy commercial buildings with lots of tenants who pay rent. Unlike I95 which has no tolls and public, non commercial facilities.

 

Very true but Dunkin‘ Donuts, BK and Sbarros aren’t completely covering the substantial remodels/replacements some of those buildings got. Oh and Nathan’s, I’m not allowed to get chili dogs on family road trips . . .

[Underwatr]

Florida's not alone in the sparkly appeal of toll highways to government coffers. There's also Texas, as the junction of the LBJ Freeway and the George Bush Tollway so poignantly illustrates.

[STIguy]

Very true but Dunkin‘ Donuts, BK and Sbarros aren’t completely covering the substantial remodels/replacements some of those buildings got. Oh and Nathan’s, I’m not allowed to get chili dogs on family road trips . . .

 

Now that there is funny. :')

[Capt_BJ]

Florida's not alone in the sparkly appeal of toll highways to government coffers. There's also Texas, as the junction of the LBJ Freeway and the George Bush Tollway so poignantly illustrates.

If the north and esp'ly the NE are toll road free, why are there so many questions about wanting to use their EZ-PASS in FL????

[luvscruising2007]

NE is not toll free. I live in Maryland and we have several toll bridges and high ways. Also Delaware turn pike and Bay Bridge tunnel system. All of these accept EZ pass. I wish Florida would accept it also.