Visitor Toll Pass vs EZ Pass

[Mikey15]

I'm confused.... gotta use car/toll system soon (never have before) and planned on bringing my local transponder with me- if I *don't* input the rental car plates, it might charge me thru the rental company? there is conflicting advice here ,trying to get this right

The Florida tollways will look for a transponder first, so if you bring your own, it should pick that up even if you don’t punch the plate in. It’s if it doesn’t pick up your transponder, then it will look for a plate.

NY works the same in my experience. I had a rental car for a work trip and brought my transponder, but forgot to add the rental plate in my E-ZPass app. The Thruway still billed my E-ZPass account as if I were in my own car.

 

[LadyRapunzel]

I always just use my own EZ pass transponder. I have the faraday bag it came with and that’s what I put it in while traveling to the destination. PA makes it really easy to add rental car plates via the app, it takes like 30 seconds.

Plus, I take the auto train a lot, so in those cases it’s my car with my transponder.

 

[leebee]

I have the VTP set up on my phone. When I pick up the pass, when do I add the rental car plate? Do I need it BEFORE getting the pass from the machine? That would negate the benefit of going straight to the car (Hertz Gold), if I need the plate number to get the pass. Also... if I can add the plate number after getting the pass, can I do this from the garage or should I stop in the cell phone lot or the convenience store by the airport and add it from there?
[the only time I used VTP was when it was new and they had folks with iPads in the airport to help with all this- and this is the very first time I have ever used apps on a cell phone; I've only had a phone for a couple of months so I'm a real newbie at ALL of this!]

 

[MikeF;NJ]

I have the VTP set up on my phone. When I pick up the pass, when do I add the rental car plate? Do I need it BEFORE getting the pass from the machine? That would negate the benefit of going straight to the car (Hertz Gold), if I need the plate number to get the pass. Also... if I can add the plate number after getting the pass, can I do this from the garage or should I stop in the cell phone lot or the convenience store by the airport and add it from there?
[the only time I used VTP was when it was new and they had folks with iPads in the airport to help with all this- and this is the very first time I have ever used apps on a cell phone; I've only had a phone for a couple of months so I'm a real newbie at ALL of this!]

According to https://www.visitortollpass.com/How

In Step 3 (Which you do after you pick up your hang tag at their kiosks)

HANG YOUR VISITOR TOLL PASS™ ON YOUR RENTAL VEHICLE’S REARVIEW MIRROR:​

Be sure you update your rental vehicle’s license plate number in the app prior to exiting the airport. Hang your Visitor Toll Pass™ on the rearview mirror and leave it up for the duration of your trip to enjoy non-stop travel on all Florida toll roads.

I don't know if "prior to exiting the airport" would include the cell phone lot, but I'm pretty sure the convenience store would be after you left the airport itself. I would assume as long as you have cell data service or a wifi connection in the garage, you should have no problem adding it from there.

 

[Wrench]

I was told by a staff member VTP to enter in the license plate before leaving the rental car garage, so I always enter it in before I pull out of the space and never have had an issue with cell service or app

 

[lilmc]

I also always enter the license plate number in the rental car garage before leaving, but I pick up my pass before heading out to the rental car garage.

 

[ak517]

We just used this service and I forgot to enter the license plate number for three days until I got a phone call from the VTP customer service folks. It's still TBD if I get charged via the rental car company too, but that would obviously be my own user error.

 

[Mikey15]

I just did my first VTP trip, and this was the order for me:

0. Schedule the trip in the app from home so it’s ready to go

1. Go to Enterprise counter and do my rental paperwork

2. -Go to the VTP kiosk which was right next to the Enterprise/National counter (I was at Terminal C)
-Open app on my phone
-Scan QR code at kiosk
-Take tag

3. -Head down escalator to Enterprise lot
-Pick car
-Take picture of license plate so I can enter it in app
-Sit down in car, open app, add license plate

Very easy process overall!

 

[leebee]

We'll see what happens. I had no cell reception in the garage, and in the heavy traffic forgot to stop someplace to add the plate. VTP emailed me about this so I did it tonight. The pass itself DOES say that it is activated and linked to your account upon leaving the parking garage... so we'll see what happens.