Car Rental and Tolls

[cmlnkb]

Hi....we are flying into LAX and have rented a car through Alamo. Can anyone tell me what they have done for tolls? Thanks

 

[irlandaise]

Hi....we are flying into LAX and have rented a car through Alamo. Can anyone tell me what they have done for tolls? Thanks

Tolls? What are those?? Welcome to California.

Okay, okay...yes, there are some. But if you're just going from LAX to Disneyland, you won't need them.

 

[goofy1954]

Tolls are mostly for bridges, and Los Angeles is a desert.

 

[disneychrista]

You can rest assured that you won't come across any tolls on your way between LAX & Disneyland.

 

[hardcorestitch]

Hi....we are flying into LAX and have rented a car through Alamo. Can anyone tell me what they have done for tolls? Thanks

TollPass service is charged at normal toll rates + a per day charge of roughly $4-5. If you have FasTrak you would put the rental car’s license plate on your account. This charge applies to driving the 73, 133, 241 and 261 toll roads in Orange County. It will show up a maximum of 6 weeks after driving through.

 

[cmlnkb]

I’m also going to be driving to San Diego and then back to LA from San Diego. Will there be any tolls then?

 

[Howry]

No tolls from LA to San Diego

 

[LKing]

In general, carpool lanes are free for vehicles with 2+ people. There is a portion of the 405 (San Diego freeway) that now has Express Lanes. They are next to the median and are well marked. The rest of the freeway is free, so I would avoid driving in the Express Lanes. You can find out more information here: https://octa.net/media/k2slow5y/405-express-lanes-brochure_eng.pdf

 

[laugard]

Others have shared good info about not needing to be concerned much about tolls. I’ll add the suggestion to check the “avoid toll roads” option in whatever navigation system you use for extra assurance. I keep this on default in google maps whenever driving in one of the few areas in Orange County it might come up.

 

[BrianL]

I agree that tolls aren't a big cocern in the area, but in my experience, rental car companies have always just added the charges automatically. That's how it's been for me whenever I've rented cars in Florida ant Texas, where I would drive across toll roads (at least since they all pretty much went digital with no need to toss change into the big bucket!).

 

[irlandaise]

I agree that tolls aren't a big cocern in the area, but in my experience, rental car companies have always just added the charges automatically. That's how it's been for me whenever I've rented cars in Florida ant Texas, where I would drive across toll roads (at least since they all pretty much went digital with no need to toss change into the big bucket!).

So they add some flat charge even if they don't know whether you'll be using toll roads and if so, how much those will cost?

 

[BrianL]

So they add some flat charge even if they don't know whether you'll be using toll roads and if so, how much those will cost?

I my experience, they would know what tolls the car incurred and bill you for that amount. It usually came in a little after you returned it. I used to have to do expense reports on it, and I would always have to do a new one just for the tolls. I suppose this could vary by company, etc. but tolls are so easy now - they just track everything.

 

[irlandaise]

I my experience, they would know what tolls the car incurred and bill you for that amount. It usually came in a little after you returned it. I used to have to do expense reports on it, and I would always have to do a new one just for the tolls. I suppose this could vary by company, etc. but tolls are so easy now - they just track everything.

Okay, that makes sense. When you said they added the charges automatically, I thought you meant at the start of the rental period. Yes, I would expect them to add tolls after the fact.

 

[LAS2AMS]

I my experience, they would know what tolls the car incurred and bill you for that amount. It usually came in a little after you returned it. I used to have to do expense reports on it, and I would always have to do a new one just for the tolls. I suppose this could vary by company, etc. but tolls are so easy now - they just track everything.

Note that unless you have a toll package, you’ll pay an administrative/ convenience fee (which may work out to be a better deal anyway). Most companies charge a flat daily fee, but some charge by the occurrences.

A couple years ago we rented a budget (not Budget) car rental in Orlando. They were doing roadwork which forced us on one of those toll roads that charges 75c - in coins only - to enter and exit. Of course we didn’t have this and the rental company charged us a $20 daily toll fee, $1.50 for the tolls and $70 ($35 each) for toll violation (imposed by the rental company). Which was more than we otherwise paid for the rental!

 

[BrianL]

Note that unless you have a toll package, you’ll pay an administrative/ convenience fee (which may work out to be a better deal anyway). Most companies charge a flat daily fee, but some charge by the occurrences.

A couple years ago we rented a budget (not Budget) car rental in Orlando. They were doing roadwork which forced us on one of those toll roads that charges 75c - in coins only - to enter and exit. Of course we didn’t have this and the rental company charged us a $20 daily toll fee, $1.50 for the tolls and $70 ($35 each) for toll violation (imposed by the rental company). Which was more than we otherwise paid for the rental!

I've never had the experience where they charged me that much, but it is possible there could be fees. It may vary by company. It's also been a while since I've rented a car, so things may have changed.

 

[LAS2AMS]

I've never had the experience where they charged me that much, but it is possible there could be fees. It may vary by company. It's also been a while since I've rented a car, so things may have changed.

It depends on the rental agency as well as their menu of options (which may vary by location). At MCO, one major rental company charges $4 per day for use of its toll pass - up to $20 per rental month. But if you don’t purchase the toll pass, you pay the full $20 if you use it just one time. Those rates don’t include tolls.

LAX and especially MCO have a handful of deep discount rental agencies. The rental rate is super cheap but they’ll hit you hard on fees. If you rent from one of these, learn from my mistake.

MCO has toll passes you can rent that’ll be cheaper than any rental agency. LAX doesn’t have these, mainly because the toll roads can easily be avoided.