Quarters still needed for tolls?

[voleball]

We'll be renting a car at MCO, doing Disney and Universal, driving down to Cape Coral and returning it there. We brought bunch of quarters for tolls when we visited 10 years ago but I don't know how much things changed. Do we still need quarters? Or is it cashless now? I appreciate if you can educate me on the current toll situations.

 

[erionm]

Some tolls are cashless and some are not. SR-528 and SR-417 both still accept cash.

The State of FL converted the FL Turnpike to cashless. Any new toll road or toll plaza built in the last several years must be cashless per FL Law.

The Central FL Expressway Authority (CFX) recently announced that they will start removing exact coin machines from the toll roads they own and operate in 2023.

An option when renting a vehicle at MCO is the Visitor Toll Pass from the Central FL Expressway Authority.

https://visitortollpass.com/

 

[Ralph&Pam]

We'll be renting a car at MCO, doing Disney and Universal, driving down to Cape Coral and returning it there. We brought bunch of quarters for tolls when we visited 10 years ago but I don't know how much things changed. Do we still need quarters? Or is it cashless now? I appreciate if you can educate me on the current toll situations.

Who are you renting from? The various agencies handle tolls in different ways. We use Alamo/National. They have had the option to use their toll pass program (pay-by-plate) at a service fee of $3.95 to $4.95/day plus tolls, charged only on the days when tolls are incurred and up to a maximum ($30 in service fees, I believe) per rental.

Alternately, pay cash where available, or use a transponder. However, some parts of the systems are now cashless (FL Turnpike, for example, and all the tolls in the Miami area; I don’t know the toll road/toll bridge situation in the Cape Coral/Fort Myers area, so cannot comment on that).

All of Florida now participates in the EZ-Pass network that covers most of the US east of the Mississippi (under various names, like Illinois I-pass). The two FL agencies sell transponders that can be used throughout the EZ-Pass network (FL DOT at Sunpass.com for Sunpass Pro and Central Florida Expressway at Cfxway.com for Unipass.) I find that entering license plate data for a rental car into the online transponder account is a little easier for Sunpass, but both agencies support doing this to link the transponder to the rental car license plate for charging purposes. Of course, if you have an EZ-Pass transponder already, you could bring that with; just be sure to enter the rental car information on the issuing authority’s web site for proper charging.

Since you are renting in Orlando and dropping off in Cape Coral, the Visitor Toll Pass program is not an option, since that program expects round trips to MCO.

 

[MrKnight]

Most toll roads have transitioned to cashless and totally removed toll booths altogether, so in most cases cash and coins are no longer accepted.. If you are driving a car rental they will simply bill you after the fact through the toll-by-plate program (a picture is taken of the vehicle's plate when you drive through the toll road), they will typically email you the toll statement about a week later and will automatically charge the credit card attached to your car rental reservation.

 

[voleball]

Thanks guys. It sounds like it's best to follow up with my rental company.

 

[MikeF;NJ]

According to the Lee county website at https://www.leegov.com/tolls/cost
tolls at Cape Coral and Sanibel bridges are now cashless.

 

[Capt_BJ]

Thanks guys. It sounds like it's best to follow up with my rental company.

how most of the major rental companies handle Florida electronic tolls can be found https://www.sunpass.com/en/tolls/rentalVehicles.shtml

TOLL PROGRAM SUMMARIES
The menus below show various toll program summaries and their participating rental agencies.

 

[Mrs.AMC]

Thanks guys. It sounds like it's best to follow up with my rental company.

Think about where you drive and how often.
We live in a state without toll roads but have some in nearby states and rent cars in FL enough that we opted to get a transponder from SunPass system. It's not expensive
Theirs is useable in pretty much any toll road all up and down the east coast. In the end it saves money over the up charge the rental companies throw on the toll program.
It even helps if you drive your own car since toll by plate is a high extra charge too.
I like that the SunPass transponder can go from vehicle to vehicle. As mentioned above, I just add the rental car license plate the to the app and haven't had any issues with their system charging me over the SunPass (knock on wood) but will have a record of what I paid if I ever do. Cell service is a PITA in the MCO garage so I always pull over as I leave the garage and do it. There is a good spot just as you depart the garage before you get on the ramp area where you can get out of the way of others. Or you can walk over to an open area in the garage.
Anyway, something to think about if you think you'd get use out of it.

 

[Stratman50th]

Think about where you drive and how often.
We live in a state without toll roads but have some in nearby states and rent cars in FL enough that we opted to get a transponder from SunPass system. It's not expensive
Theirs is useable in pretty much any toll road all up and down the east coast. In the end it saves money over the up charge the rental companies throw on the toll program.
It even helps if you drive your own car since toll by plate is a high extra charge too.
I like that the SunPass transponder can go from vehicle to vehicle. As mentioned above, I just add the rental car license plate the to the app and haven't had any issues with their system charging me over the SunPass (knock on wood) but will have a record of what I paid if I ever do. Cell service is a PITA in the MCO garage so I always pull over as I leave the garage and do it. There is a good spot just as you depart the garage before you get on the ramp area where you can get out of the way of others. Or you can walk over to an open area in the garage.
Anyway, something to think about if you think you'd get use out of it.

All correct, but there are several Sunpass transponders. The one that works on the US east coast tolls is the Sunpass PRO. I kept my EZPASS MD transponder for years just for the occasional trip up north but there was a yearly fee. Once the SunPass PRO came out I got that and cancelled the EZpass.

 

[nolatravelgirl]

You would be better off setting up a "toll by plate" for Florida. The rental car companies have a big racket and charge you a daily "convenience fee" for each day plus the toll. Here is an excerpt from the Avis website.

e-Toll fees (Standard): If you use the e-Toll service at any time during your rental, you agree to pay a convenience fee of $5.95 for each day on which you incur a toll up to a maximum amount of $29.75 per rental period (not to exceed 30 days). In addition, you will pay all tolls incurred at the maximum prevailing non-discounted or cash rates posted by the toll authority.