Driving from MA...do I need the Sunpass?

[michael's mom]

We are driving down in a few weeks and I can’t find info on tolls in FL. We will have the MA EZpass but I’ve read it doesn’t work in FL. The one site I found doesn’t show tolls in FL but I know I’ve hit them coming from the airport.

 

[bluezy]

We are driving down in a few weeks and I can’t find info on tolls in FL. We will have the MA EZpass but I’ve read it doesn’t work in FL. The one site I found doesn’t show tolls in FL but I know I’ve hit them coming from the airport.

We drive from Southeast PA -- have done it 8 times now and just got home on Monday. If you're taking the I-95 to I-4 route you don't need Sunpass as there are no tolls on that route in FL.

 

[michael's mom]

We drive from Southeast PA -- have done it 8 times now and just got home on Monday. If you're taking the I-95 to I-4 route you don't need Sunpass as there are no tolls on that route in FL.

Perfect! Thank you. That is exactly how we are driving!

 

[monorailsilver]

Just bring your EZ pass since it works all the way to DC.

We have only driven down once and drove past Disney as well as the Autotrain and made it to Disney with out the sun pass/no tolls.

 

[Anthony1971]

look at the route through PA meeting I-95 in VA... longer in miles but avoids the headaches of driving through MD and DC and may end up be shorter in time depending on traffic. If you decide on 95 straight through after you go through DC as this is no longer 95 and meet up with 95 again, go all the way right as there is an express lane that has toll charges on this part of 95 and it is not cheap... you could end up paying a few dollars to 15-20 (do not recall exact amount all the way through) before you realize it is a toll lane. Did this when I drove to Virginia Beach last year also remembered the PA route after the mess both ways at off times.

 

[Jimsig]

Just bring your EZ pass since it works all the way to DC.

We have only driven down once and drove past Disney as well as the Autotrain and made it to Disney with out the sun pass/no tolls.

Works south of DC into VA as well.

 

[Jimsig]

... If you decide on 95 straight through after you go through DC as this is no longer 95 and meet up with 95 again, go all the way right as there is an express lane that has toll charges on this part of 95 and it is not cheap... you could end up paying a few dollars to 15-20 (do not recall exact amount all the way through) before you realize it is a toll lane. Did this when I drove to Virginia Beach last year also remembered the PA route after the mess both ways at off times.

I think they may use variable price tolling, maybe someone else here know exactly. Traffic on the main road and time of day plays a part into how much you are charged, but the toll amount it posted via a LED sign so you know how much it is before you get on. We drove down to Myrtle Beach this past April on I-95 through VA and traffic was backed up for about 7 miles to where the express lanes merge on the main road. To get off before the back up started was only something like $2.50, but to go all the way on the express lane to avoid the traffic was almost $8.00 on a Sat and it was a weird amount like $7.78. I noticed it in MD too where it was $1.29 to drive on one of there toll roads.

 

[bluezy]

I think they may use variable price tolling, maybe someone else here know exactly. Traffic on the main road and time of day plays a part into how much you are charged, but the toll amount it posted via a LED sign so you know how much it is before you get on. We drove down to Myrtle Beach this past April on I-95 through VA and traffic was backed up for about 7 miles to where the express lanes merge on the main road. To get off before the back up started was only something like $2.50, but to go all the way on the express lane to avoid the traffic was almost $8.00 on a Sat and it was a weird amount like $7.78. I noticed it in MD too where it was $1.29 to drive on one of there toll roads.

I agree that I think they do variable pricing based on traffic, time of day, etc. We just made the trip down I-95 last week and on our southbound journey we were traveling through the express lane area early in the afternoon on a Friday and there was quite a bit of traffic in the standard lanes. Most of the posted fees were in the $3-4 range for each segment. When the traffic in the standard lanes slowed to a crawl, we jumped in the express lanes which at that point had tolls in the $5-6 range. I looked up our total toll charges today and the cost for us to be in those express lanes for probably 5 or 6 miles was just under $20. But we know that getting in those lanes saved us 45 minutes of time (based on info from Waze and Googlemaps at the time) so it was worth it to us. On the northbound journey we were traveling through that area on a Monday morning around 10:00. Traffic was light and the northbound express lanes were going to be closing to convert to southbound at 10:15 (according to the signs). The tolls for most of the segments were under $2.00 with one or two being $3.xx. We didn't use the express lanes at all on the northbound trip as there really wasn't any need to and no advantage to using them (other than one small segment where the speed limit in the express lanes was 5mph faster than the standard lanes).

 

[msb578]

If the traffic on I-4 is bad (which it often is), 417 around Orlando is a nice toll road alternative.

I still chose not to get Sunpass. I just brought a sack of quarters, and it worked out great.

 

[bluezy]

I would highly recommend using Google Maps or Waze (though we find Google to be better for addressing delays -- we actually run both programs on 2 different phones because in general, we prefer Waze, but for traffic conditions we prefer Google) as you approach I-4. That way you will know if there is a deal and how much of a delay there might be and can make a decision as to whether it's worth hopping over to 417 and paying the tolls. We drove I-4 through Orlando the last 2 Sunday mornings and had zero delays either time. Yes, there was traffic, but we were moving at the speed limit or above both times and our mapping programs both said we were on the fastest route. I'm sure if you hit it at rush hour, you might have a different experience though in 2016 we drove through at 7:00 a.m. on a Monday morning and 10:00 on a Tuesday morning and had no issues either of those times.

 

[RangerPooh]

We drive form Tennessee (hit Atlanta and then head down) and buy a SunPass at one of the Florida welcome centers just across the Georgia line. It doesn't expire, so if we don;t use it as often we can use it on a later trip. For us it's easier to use the toll roads.

 

[ajwolfe]

We just pay the tolls with cash/coins the sunpass cost is quite a bit more than just paying the tolls. Even traveling that way every year or so it didn't make sense to us.

 

[Natgridenergy]

We are driving down in a few weeks and I can’t find info on tolls in FL. We will have the MA EZpass but I’ve read it doesn’t work in FL. The one site I found doesn’t show tolls in FL but I know I’ve hit them coming from the airport.

I'm in RI and always thought a road trip to Disney would be fun. Let us know how it goes!

 

[michael's mom]

I'm in RI and always thought a road trip to Disney would be fun. Let us know how it goes!

Will do. It’s a surprise for the kids too!