Rental car / tolls when driving in SoCal

[Anal Annie]

Coming to DL / SoCal in late August and just rented a car. There were a ton of "options" available which I ignored when booking. But then I started wondering if our EZPass would work out there and a quick Google search told me NOPE. We'll be toodling around on & off for a week - should I have taken some option for a transponder of some sort (looked a little pricey for a "what if" situation). Are there a lot of toll roads we'll need to try to avoid if we don't purchase something? Just planning some basic sightseeing - beaches, San Diego etc.
TIA

 

[China Expat]

There are no mandatory toll roads around here.All optional. You'll be fine without the Fast Trak transponder

 

[foolish_mortals]

As the previous poster said, toll roads are optional. Anaheim to San Diego you are highly unlikely to need to take tolls as there are none on the 5. It would only happen if you end up having to go a circuitous route. Most of them are essentially paid carpool lanes, in that they are on the same freeway and will save you time.

Do note, that even though they might say 3+ free, most still require a transponder.

On the plus side FastTrak has the option to do a one time toll payment if you mess up and take a toll by mistake as well as pay tolls for a rental.

https://secure.thetollroads.com/tolls/rental-toll

 

[Anal Annie]

Thanks guys - good to know! We'll try to keep an eye out for toll lanes & just avoid them if there's not that many to worry about.

 

[Disney Dad ADL]

Thanks guys - good to know! We'll try to keep an eye out for toll lanes & just avoid them if there's not that many to worry about.

The only actual toll road in the Orange County area (not just a "FastTrak lane") is 241. If you're just at Disneyland, I don't think there would be any particular reason you would need to go on 241, but it's east of Anaheim. If you are only at DL and the beach cities, then you wouldn't end up on 241

 

[Disney Dad ADL]

Actually, kinda lied sorry, lol. I forgot about a couple other ones. there's 261 and 133, but they are small and kind of extensions to 241.

73 is a toll road also (though there is a part of it that is not). 73 is actually the one where you could conceivably end up on if you are down in the Irvine area, or you are heading to the south part of county. It's not a road that a tourist would usually take, but I suppose it's possible that Google Maps could try to route you through 73 if there was some sort of traffic problem if you were going San Diego for example.

 

[Anal Annie]

Actually, kinda lied sorry, lol. I forgot about a couple other ones. there's 261 and 133, but they are small and kind of extensions to 241.

73 is a toll road also (though there is a part of it that is not). 73 is actually the one where you could conceivably end up on if you are down in the Irvine area, or you are heading to the south part of county. It's not a road that a tourist would usually take, but I suppose it's possible that Google Maps could try to route you through 73 if there was some sort of traffic problem if you were going San Diego for example.

Thx. We actually may take drive down to SD one day. It's on our "to do" list anyway, although I am not sure what we'll DO down there.

 

[Lumpy1106]

If you do happen to find yourself on a toll road in So Cal you did not expect, don't stress. All allow you to pay without penalty as long as you do it pre-emptively. There are usually signs with the website - just log in and enter your info.

 

[bcla]

The toll transponder system in California is called FasTrak, and there are several agencies that do it where they're all interchangeable. However, it's not required to have a transponder any more.

https://thetollroads.com/help/rental-vehicles/

The issue with a lot of rental car companies is that they often charge large convenience fees.