EZ pass question

[parkbr]

Hello,

I am thinking of getting EZ pass on my way to Buffalo tomorrow and have it activate it (we fly out of Buffalo) and activate it and used it in Orlando when we rent a car (the latter part of our trip).
Does EZ pass have any maintenance/monthly fees or will the money stay until I use it next?

Also, how much is EZ pass? I hear it is $25, but not sure if EZ pass is $25 and I need to add some money?


Lastly, where can I purchase them? Target / Walmart perhaps?
Thank you!

 

[loves to dive]

It will just sit there. You can put as much as you want in the account. I can't remember how much the two options cost, one is a sticker that you put on your windshield and the other is a hanging sort of thing. I got mine on line at the EZ Pass website and went with the sticker. I always keep about $20 in the account.

 

[EACarlson]

You don't list what state but since you mention Buffalo I'm going to go with NY. Looks like they are available at Speedway gas stations and Wegman's grocery stores. You pay $25 for it, but that is credited to your account when you sign up for an account. NY EZ Pass also charges a monthly service fee, I believe it to be $1 for personal accounts (most of the accounts I deal with are commercial and it's quite a bit more.) Some have gotten EZ Pass compliant transponders from other states that don't charge that fee if it's only for occasional use. With a NY EZ Pass you will pay cheaper toll rates on the NY Thruway than those from other places, all depends on if you drive enough on the Thruway to make it worthwhile.

 

[_19disnA]

Every state offering EZpass has a website where they list fees/admin costs/tolls/etc. One thing not obvious is while the device can be used in all others states that have EZpass, you do NOT automatically get the lower toll rates in some states. Ran into this recently having moved from one state to another and now drive on different toll roads. Best to get the transponder issued by the state where you will most often travel to take advantage of toll discounts. Driving across PA for example this can add up to a lot of money, in some other states the difference isn't very much. You post a credit card number to your account so when driving on various toll roads, they can automatically replenish your account when the balance falls below a set amount.

Some of the EZpass websites are vague about how the discounts work and tend to imply you get a discount when you might not if used in another state. I got rid of the EZpass device I used to have and got one reissued from the state where I now do most of my toll road driving. Worth looking into if you travel a lot of toll roads. Some states send you the transponder in the mail. There are also options where you get the device in person at various locations.

 

[Stratman50th]

Before many of the transponders worked in multiple states, I had a MD EZpass and a Florida Sunpass. When we moved to Florida permanently I kept the MD EZpass for the occasional trip back north. MD charged me a yearly fee. Florida did not. Last year, or the year before, I forget which, Florida came out with the Sunpass PRO which works up and down the east coast but still no fees. I upgraded to that and finally got rid of the EZpass. Just echoing what others have said, check the issuing state as some have fees and some don't.

 

[georgina]

Every state offering EZpass has a website where they list fees/admin costs/tolls/etc. One thing not obvious is while the device can be used in all others states that have EZpass, you do NOT automatically get the lower toll rates in some states. Ran into this recently having moved from one state to another and now drive on different toll roads. Best to get the transponder issued by the state where you will most often travel to take advantage of toll discounts. Driving across PA for example this can add up to a lot of money, in some other states the difference isn't very much. You post a credit card number to your account so when driving on various toll roads, they can automatically replenish your account when the balance falls below a set amount.

Some of the EZpass websites are vague about how the discounts work and tend to imply you get a discount when you might not if used in another state. I got rid of the EZpass device I used to have and got one reissued from the state where I now do most of my toll road driving. Worth looking into if you travel a lot of toll roads. Some states send you the transponder in the mail. There are also options where you get the device in person at various locations.

Interesting. Never thought about that. We still have our PA EZ Pass (which charges a $3 annual fee per device), but the toll road we drive most is still the PA turnpike. I will be taking it to Orlando for my rental, are you suggesting that the Florida issued device would charge less tolls in Florida? Off to do some research!

This is from 2019 (pewtrusts.org) - According to AAA, at least eight northeastern states — Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island and West Virginia — have a two-tiered system at least some of the time, for example during rush hour. Delaware, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Virginia do not.

 

[sheilafri]

A few years ago I got my FL Sunpass at a Publix CS counter. They sell them at FL toll locations listed by county on the website. The Mini is $5 and the Pro is $15. They are at CVSs and Walgreens, too, per the website.

link: https://www.sunpass.com/en/home/index.shtml

 

[lowlight]

Before many of the transponders worked in multiple states, I had a MD EZpass and a Florida Sunpass. When we moved to Florida permanently I kept the MD EZpass for the occasional trip back north. MD charged me a yearly fee. Florida did not. Last year, or the year before, I forget which, Florida came out with the Sunpass PRO which works up and down the east coast but still no fees. I upgraded to that and finally got rid of the EZpass. Just echoing what others have said, check the issuing state as some have fees and some don't.

I didn’t know about the Sunpass pro. I got the Unipass. I’m gonna have to see what the difference is.

 

[EACarlson]

are you suggesting that the Florida issued device would charge less tolls in Florida? Off to do some research!

No, Florida charges the same regardless of where your transponder is from. I paid the same with my IL Ipass as I did with the VTP.

 

[erionm]

Interesting. Never thought about that. We still have our PA EZ Pass (which charges a $3 annual fee per device), but the toll road we drive most is still the PA turnpike. I will be taking it to Orlando for my rental, are you suggesting that the Florida issued device would charge less tolls in Florida? Off to do some research!

As already noted, you will pay the same electronic rate. The only thing out of state issued toll accounts are not eligible for are any volume discounts for using FL toll roads.

 

[erionm]

I didn’t know about the Sunpass pro. I got the Unipass. I’m gonna have to see what the difference is.

The only difference real in those two is what toll agency issued it. The SunPass PRO is issued by the State of FL while Uni is from the Central FL Expressway Authority (CFX).

CFX does have it's own volume discount program which is temporarily suspended (for personal accounts) while a temporary state volume discount program is in place.

The CFX volume discount is only applicable to CFX issued toll accounts on CFX owned and operated toll roads.
The State volume discount is applicable to all FL issued toll accounts on all tolls roads in the state.

 

[mgarbowski]

You don't list what state but since you mention Buffalo I'm going to go with NY. Looks like they are available at Speedway gas stations and Wegman's grocery stores. You pay $25 for it, but that is credited to your account when you sign up for an account. NY EZ Pass also charges a monthly service fee, I believe it to be $1 for personal accounts (most of the accounts I deal with are commercial and it's quite a bit more.) Some have gotten EZ Pass compliant transponders from other states that don't charge that fee if it's only for occasional use. With a NY EZ Pass you will pay cheaper toll rates on the NY Thruway than those from other places, all depends on if you drive enough on the Thruway to make it worthwhile.

There is a lot of contradictory information on the web regarding NY State EZ Pass fees, and frankly the official website does not help much because the fact they do not charge a monthly fee can only be ascertained by the absence of saying they have such fees.. I have a NY EZ Pass and I am not charged any monthly fee. Of that I am certain.
The official terms for Individual accounts list a $6 annual fee if you choose to receive monthly paper statements. I do not. Those same terms say nothing about a recurring $1 fee just for having the transponders or account. You would think NY would want to state that they do not impose monthly fees somewhere directly on their website as a selling point, but they do not.

NY does have a variety of monthly plans where you can choose to pay a flat rate rather than pay per trip. But that is the only type of monthly fees I can find.

 

[Ralph&Pam]

The only difference real in those two is what toll agency issued it. The SunPass PRO is issued by the State of FL while Uni is from the Central FL Expressway Authority (CFX).

CFX does have it's own volume discount program which is temporarily suspended (for personal accounts) while a temporary state volume discount program is in place.

The CFX volume discount is only applicable to CFX issued toll accounts on CFX owned and operated toll roads.
The State volume discount is applicable to all FL issued toll accounts on all tolls roads in the state.

I also have the Unipass. I have read that the process of changing the license plate associated with your transponder (for a rental car) is somewhat easier for the Sunpass Pro, and that the Sunpass process also provides for entry of an ending date for the linkage. With the Unipass, I have to go into my account and change the association at the end of the rental. I try to remember to do this while we’re waiting for our flight back at the airport lest I get charged for the next renter’s toll(s) until I make the change. Last trip, I forgot until we got home. No extra Florida toll charges, but apparently the transponder was read on a local Illinois toll road when we were being transported from Midway back home after arrival in Chicago. This was with the transponder in my backpack that I had in the back seat of the car.

 

[Mle8308]

And if you bring your own transponder, don't accidentally forget it in your rental!

 

[Stratman50th]

And if you bring your own transponder, don't accidentally forget it in your rental!

I always suggest people hang a bright red tag or long ribbons off of the transponder.

 

[Mle8308]

I always suggest people hang a bright red tag or long ribbons off of the transponder.

I like that idea! The hot pink sticky note I tried to stick to the dashboard didn't work so well.

 

[EACarlson]

And if you bring your own transponder, don't accidentally forget it in your rental!

$23 lesson when I left mine in there and had the rental company ship it back to me.

 

[shafke]

There is a lot of contradictory information on the web regarding NY State EZ Pass fees, and frankly the official website does not help much because the fact they do not charge a monthly fee can only be ascertained by the absence of saying they have such fees.. I have a NY EZ Pass and I am not charged any monthly fee. Of that I am certain.
The official terms for Individual accounts list a $6 annual fee if you choose to receive monthly paper statements. I do not. Those same terms say nothing about a recurring $1 fee just for having the transponders or account. You would think NY would want to state that they do not impose monthly fees somewhere directly on their website as a selling point, but they do not.

NY does have a variety of monthly plans where you can choose to pay a flat rate rather than pay per trip. But that is the only type of monthly fees I can find.

NY (or the company they outsourced ezpass to) at one time wanted to charge a monthly fee if you did not use it... ie: no usage in January... fee. Used at least once in Jan... no fee. There was a huge push back on this and the idea was shelved.

 

[Lewisc]

NY (or the company they outsourced ezpass to) at one time wanted to charge a monthly fee if you did not use it... ie: no usage in January... fee. Used at least once in Jan... no fee. There was a huge push back on this and the idea was shelved.

Not sure if its still true. NY ez pass can be issued by the Thruway authority, MTA and Port Authority of NYNJ.

I believe passes issued by the Port Authority have a $1 monthly account fee, but not the other 2

 

[mgarbowski]

Not sure if its still true. NY ez pass can be issued by the Thruway authority, MTA and Port Authority of NYNJ.

I believe passes issued by the Port Authority have a $1 monthly account fee, but not the other 2

NY has always had a crazy complicated structure to issue EZ Pass. The info I provided above is good for https://www.e-zpassny.com/en/home/index.shtml . My tags have the 008 MTA Bridge and Tunnel identifier. I can also confirm that it does not charge for unused tags because I have 2 cars and 3 tags. The third went unused for years. I only obtained it through a glitch. Since Florida started accepting EZ Pass it has become my vacation tag. I never pay a fee for all the months it goes unused.