Alamo Skip the Counter and Tolls

[Capt_BJ]

I have a 5 year old sunpass transponder that I haven't used for at least 3 years. I will rent from Alamo in Sept. I assume that I enter the rental car details on the website before I leave the parking garage and then I won't be charged by Alamo. Is there a way to find out if the transponder is still working before I get to Orlando?

hmmmmmm

is the transponder the one near the size of a pack of smokes or a bar of soap, beeps and flashes lights to tell you it is working and uses a battery (replaceable), cuz if it is, this type was replaced a few years ago (there was a free replacement program ... this was a step in the path to interop' with EZ-PASS for the north). If the transponder is more 'pack of gum' sized you are OK <4.3” x 1.4” x 0.8”>.

second, to verify it works I guess all you could do is head to an attended toll lane ... they should be able to 'see' if the system read the transponder ..... or go SLOW thru an exact change lane and see if the light goes green ...... but you can't do that b4 you get here

I'd first simply log on the the SUNPASS site to verify the account is still active ..... I don't believe they ever purge inactive accounts but on the other hand if all the info is correct and you have the old style transponder, you should have rec'd both mail and e-mail notices of the replacement program . . .

but yes, in theory you just use the APP to add the TAG to your account and you are good to go. Takes less than a minute but some have reported they did not get a good signal on their phone while in the rental center garage.

NOTE: IF your account is still VALID you can enter the TAG and in theory it does not matter if the transponder works or not .... the entire reason to enter the info is to activate the backup system which reads the plate when no transponder is seen ..... if the TAG is associated with a valid SUNPASS account, the account is charged . . . <I see a lot of folks with the old discontinued transponders in their cars ... so long as they keep the account active and the TAG info correct the system is gonna process the tolls via TOLL BY PLATE !!!>

 

[donnishobson]

Thanks for the help. I will get out the old transponder and make sure my account is up to date.

 

[Capt_BJ]

p.s. BE SURE to delete the rental's tag from the account when you return the car

or you could continue to pay the tolls for the vehicle!!!!!!!!

in the app you can enter an 'end' date ..... but I prefer to cut it off myself as soon as the rental is returned.

 

[Donna M]

I'm glad the rental we had last week was with Alamo and not Dollar which is the company we usually use because we ended up driving down from Jacksonville and ended up on a cashless toll road. What a nightmare of a trip that was. (We wanted to avoid the Daytona 500 since we were driving on race day.)

 

[davper]

I go often enough to justify getting my own transponder. So much easier.

 

[nacho113]

I go often enough to justify getting my own transponder. So much easier.

Same here.
The 10-15% toll savings has more than paid for the transponder over the past 7-8 years (17 visits) and being able to just run through the Sunpass lanes at highway speeds (instead of pulling off to pay tolls) has saved us a little time and a lot of frustration.

I will note that we visit the Miami area on our winter vacation and this area is cashless (Sunpass Only), which is what prompted us to purchase our own transponder in the first place.