FL legislature investigating "convenience" toll charges on rental cars

[NotUrsula]

Apparently, Florida consumer protection agencies are hearing from a lot of visitors about those so-called "convenience" toll charges for rental cars, and the Legislature is concerned that it is damaging tourism revenue: http://www.tampabay.com/news/politi...acklash-that-threatens-floridas-image/2251759

The article contains a VERY nice chart of all of the toll transponder fees charged by the various rental car companies.

 

[rwdavis2]

One partial solution is join the EasyPass network that operates on most of the east coast.

 

[NotUrsula]

EZPass won't help you in Florida; it isn't compatible with the system, and there is no portable version of SunPass.

(UPDATE: Sorry, I was wrong about the portable for SunPass; looks like they now do offer one.)

Anyway, the point is that many of the rental agencies have the toll-collection option set as an opt-out fee, rather than an opt-in, which makes it a bit disingenuous to call it a convenience. Even so, it's the fees that they are charging on top of the tolls themselves that are truly egregious, and that is what has the Legislature most concerned. The companies claim that they need to charge a fee to handle the overhead, but there is no way that it costs Thrifty $37 to electronically pay a week's worth of tolls for you, especially when they charge it in Miami even if you never set wheels on a toll road.

 

[Chumpieboy]

EZPass won't help you in Florida; it isn't compatible with the system, and there is no portable version of SunPass.

I think rwdavis is saying that the two regional systems should merge or co-share.

And you can indeed buy a portable sunpass. We have one we keep in our WDW carry-on that we use when renting in Orlando.

 

[bumbershoot]

"Rental car toll fees stir backlash that threatens Florida's image"

Bwa ha ha. As a long time reader of Dave Barry and Carl Hiassen...do they really think they have a *good* image as a state???


And one of the main things quoted is from a Canadian paper? The literal ONLY place DH has traveled so far for work where there has been NO option to pay cash on a toll road was in Canada. Bizarre.

 

[Chumpieboy]

Also, FTA:

"There is a large infrastructure to create the system and then there is a great deal of effort and time to manage the system on a daily basis," Bell testified. "It is an expensive proposition to build and run the program."

Aren't the toll roads (including Sunpass) essentially operated by the state govt? Avis Budget Group didn't build the Sunpass system, they just get a data feed from them to xref against their rental fleet.

 

[rwdavis2]

I think rwdavis is saying that the two regional systems should merge or co-share.

And you can indeed buy a portable sunpass. We have one we keep in our WDW carry-on that we use when renting in Orlando.

Correct. We forgot our EP when we recently flew to Rhode Island.

 

[Unas]

This is a prime example of elected officials being disingenuous. State and local governments have a track record of loveing to tack on "fees" to car rentals to pay for all kinds of stuff that there constituents would bounce them out of office for. Most of the time it's for money losing stadiums, and similar capital projects that benefit only the million/billionaire owners.

 

[ParrotBill]

The government does not benefit from the fees the car rental companies charge. It simply gouging and the government has turned a blind eye so far. The rental cars don't get a feed, they get a bill. The same toll by plate bill that anyone else would get.

A sunpass in your car is SUPPOSED to override Toll-by-plate and so the rental car company will not see a bill and you will not be considered to have "used" tolls that time. You must call and register the plate of your rental car on your Sunpass when you pick it up. Be prepared to show your Sunpass records if you get charged - and to have to fight to get the toll and daily fee refunded after you have returned from the rental - sometimes the toll charges show up as a second charge after you return the car.

I have had my own portable Sunpass for 6 years, as I won't pay $6 for the "convenience" of having tolls handled for me.

 

[MillauFr]

This is a prime example of elected officials being disingenuous. State and local governments have a track record of loveing to tack on "fees" to car rentals to pay for all kinds of stuff that there constituents would bounce them out of office for. Most of the time it's for money losing stadiums, and similar capital projects that benefit only the million/billionaire owners.

Exactly. It is state and local governments that are gouging far more than the rental car companies. I wouldn't have a problem with the added taxes if they were going to pay for schools, police, fire, etc... But most of the time they are going to give million and billionaires subsidies on private sports teams.