Question from an infrequent car renter

As expected, I just got a bill from a car rental agency for tolls that I did not pay while traveling on highways with license plate readers and no cash option. 

I'm clear that I owe the tolls, but the very large penalty stings. Do people travel with their EZPass transponders? Do rental companies offer them, and how does that work? (I don't remember one being offered.) How do you work this?


j_r said:

As expected, I just got a bill from a car rental agency for tolls that I did not pay while traveling on highways with license plate readers and no cash option. 

I'm clear that I owe the tolls, but the very large penalty stings. Do people travel with their EZPass transponders? Do rental companies offer them, and how does that work? (I don't remember one being offered.) How do you work this?

Some rental companies have them and you pay an extra (daily) fee to use them.  What annoys me is that (in the cases I've seen), the daily fee applies for EVERY day of the rental, not just the days that you use it.

I'm not sure what happens if you use your own EZ Pass in another vehicle, since they are supposed to be linked to the particular vehicle (although I'm not sure if/how that is enforced.)  

I wish that the various toll authorities would get their act together so that we could use our EZ Pass transponder in other regions of the country that have different networks.  They could charge a small extra fee for that and I wouldn't mind.  This is a growing issue since more and more places have "cashless" toll roads.


Travelling with your own ezpass transponder is the best solution.  In the past - EZpass wanted to know license plate # of alternate vehicles - but this doesn't seem to be required anymore.


The only problem with EZ Pass in a different vehicle is that the rental units usually don't have the velcro thingy on the windshield to attach it. So you have to hold up the EZ pass. It usually works, but sometimes doesn't. You have to hold it right up against the glass of the windshield, which is a pain.


I was in a rental a couple of weeks ago and on one toll it didn't register. I hope I don't get hit with a huge fine for that.


I use my EZpass.   As long as it is  a similar vehicle (passenger  car/mini van v a higher rate commercial truck, you can use your EZpass.

I have also used it when a friend was giving me a ride to a doctor's appointment in their car...never had an issue.

last i checked with the EZpass site, it said it was fine to do it.

i haven't had a rental since the installed plate readers though.

good rental place would have discussed this with you...i'm sure its in the fine print.

you can try to stick the transponder on with something like command strip tape.


It only works if you are in EZPass territory (most of the northeast/mid-Atlantic and west to Indiana, I think.)  The rest of the country has different systems that aren't compatible.


sac said:

It only works if you are in EZPass territory (most of the northeast/mid-Atlantic and west to Indiana, I think.)  The rest of the country has different systems that aren't compatible.

 Used EZ Pass in Chicago Metro this summer.


Others correctly point out that this only works where EZ pass is accepted. And- you can go into your account at any time and add a vehicle, license plate, note that its a rental and put a timeline around it. This is especially great when using camera lanes like the high speed EZ pass on turnpike. One caveat- if the vehicle is already registered to an EZ pass account, it will not allow you to do it to yours. (their site is a little hard to navigate in mobile)

Also- does not require the transponder to bill to you correctly.


There is a daily charge for toll box for rental cars that applies to the entire rental even if you just go through tolls on one day. It ranges from $3.95-11.95 per day depending on rental company. The solution is to pay manually for tolls. 

If you use your own toll pass, I think it’s sort of hit or miss which one will register as you go through a toll.

some car rental companies have a lever on their box that allows you to turn them off completely. Most do not (it’s built into a reader on the license plate in most cases)



I’ve rented in FL a few times in the last few months. It is not EZ Pass territory. 

The options are to get the per-day transponder from the rental agency or to avoid tolls. I use the avoid tolls setting on Waze. It typically adds just a few minutes.


The option to pay manually is often not an option at all because there is no booth, just a scanner.


jimmurphy said:

I’ve rented in FL a few times in the last few months. It is not EZ Pass territory. 

The options are to get the per-day transponder from the rental agency or to avoid tolls. I use the avoid tolls setting on Waze. It typically adds just a few minutes.


The option to pay manually is often not an option at all because there is no booth, just a scanner.

 Did that last year, but went through the booths, anyway. Actually, didn't realize it was not EZ compatible. A month or so later, got a bill for the actual tolls, no penalty.


I usually just rent the transponder from the place if I'm going to be needing to use toll roads. In most parts of the country toll roads are fairly optional and often they're just for a 'fast lane' which is primarily used during commuting hours, which I can't say I've ever needed.

If I don't know the area I ask the person at the counter for advice and rent the transponder if it's recommended.


In Florida you can pick up a Sunpass for $5 at any Publix and activate it online. You can deactivate when you're home, or just keep it till your next trip. There's no monthly fee. (and it also works in GA and NC.)


In California you can pay tolls online.  I had a moment of panic driving into San Francisco because none of the lanes took cash and I had to drive through the "toll unpaid" red light. 

Later that day I went to the website and paid the toll.  Didn't hear any complaints from my rental company.

Also, write a letter or call.  If they have decent customer service they should waive the fees.  Often a post on Facebook, Twitter, etc. gets results because they don't want the negative PR.


EBennett said:

In California you can pay tolls online.  I had a moment of panic driving into San Francisco because none of the lanes took cash and I had to drive through the "toll unpaid" red light. 

Later that day I went to the website and paid the toll.  Didn't hear any complaints from my rental company.

Also, write a letter or call.  If they have decent customer service they should waive the fees.  Often a post on Facebook, Twitter, etc. gets results because they don't want the negative PR.

I agree. Call and you could get the fine waived.


Thanks, all. I was driving outside of Denver, where EZPass is not accepted and there was no option to pay cash (which was what I was expecting). The toll and fine were about what I would have paid to rent a transponder from the rental agency, so I guess it's a wash. 



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