I believe that the rental company is just covering itself for those who just "run" the sensor lane without a sensor... the "Toll by Plate" option reads the license plate and bills the rental company...

The best option is using the Manned booths when available and the coin lanes when the booths are unmanned... just prepare with a bag of change and never run through a sensor lane with the rental...

PS EZ pass won't work... have fun

I got hit with these "convenience" fees in both Naples, FL and Boston earlier this year using AVIS. I tried to stop and pay the tolls in cash but the first booth lady told me since I had the transponder on the car, the system had already charged it for the toll.I wound up paying over $50 for about $5 worth of tolls.

I think the rental car companies have found another profit center.

No, your EZ Pass will not work...at least mine from No. Virginia doesn't...you either have to use SunPass or else I believe which is why I got the latter for down here.

Here's the official "answer"

7. Where is E-ZPass accepted?

You can use your E-ZPass transponder on all toll roads with specially marked "E-ZPass" lanes. This currently includes roads in Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Virginia and West Virginia.

as garyt22 says, EZ pass won't work. Florida has a number of exits on toll roads, particularly in the Miami area where the only way to pay is with a Sun Pass - their version of EZ Pass. These exits are well marked. Go through that exit without paying and a bill with processing fee will be sent to the rental company who will most likely tack on an extra fee when they pass it to you.

There are 3 solutions:
1. Don't use toll roads
2. Use a different exit and hope it is not too far from where you want to go.
3. Get a Sun Pass. There are 2 types, one that is permanently stuck to your window - those are the least expensive. The other is like the EZ Pass that you put in a holder with suction cups. The Sun Pass is available at rest stops on toll roads and directly by mail that you can get before you leave on your trip. Both types have to be "charged" with your credit card to work. You can do that by phone during normal office hours. Hertz will not like the permanent kind, but if you get one, be sure to call and get it inactivated when you return the card.

Neo, unless you are planning to return to Florida periodically AND drive on the Turnpike or the other toll roads I would not bother with a SunPass.

I guess, maybe I got my answer -- at least it's clear I can't used the EZ Pass, which I thought I couldn't, despite an agent at Hertz telling me it would work.

But garyt22, you're missing a major point. I understand there are some exits (or entrances) that have no manned or coined machines. You MUST use a pass or let them bill you for the license plate thing. It's easy to say, don't use those exits, but how does one know where they are until you are in them and it's too late to back out into heavy traffic?

dwooddon, I assume you are talking about Alligator Alley in Naples. You simply got in the wrong lane I guess, but it is possible to pay with cash there. But I'm really confused about their saying it was too late if you were in a cash or pass lane. Surely you can still pay when you drive up to the toll booth unless you were in a "pass only" lane, but then there would be no one to tell you they couldn't take cash.

I checked the SunPass website and found this, which is most likely your best answer.

Most major rental car companies now offer their customers the option of including tolls with the credit card used to rent the vehicle. These rental car customers can use Florida's toll roads and not worry about carrying cash or stopping to pay for tolls. Using license plate recognition systems allows rental car customers to use the Express, SunPass ONLY, E-PASS ONLY and LeeWay ONLY lanes to bypass congestion and traffic.

Rental agencies or their associated third party vendors will assess the fees agreed to in your rental agreement to collect the toll(s). For more information on specific rental car programs, please contact your local rental car agency as each agency has separate programs and fees associated with electronic toll usage. Click here to view Pass24©, PlatePass©,eToll©, program summaries and participating rental agencies.

If this does not work with Hertz to your satisfaction, I would just bite the bullet and buy one. Google SunPass and it will tell you how.

Maybe I was making a problem where there is none. The only "big deal" about all of this is "how often might I end up at a toll booth that doesn't take cash or credit card and I have no option but to activate the plate pass? You don't need to do anything to activate it when you rent a car with this system (apparently now ALL rental cars in Florida have it). It will only kick in IF you go through a toll booth that doesn't have any cash or pay lines -- or if you go through a pass only lane. But just do it once and you will be hit with a pretty hefty fee for doing so.
I'm guessing there are very few of these exits and entrances. The biggest problem is not being able to find out exactly where they might be so you can avoid them in advance.

In November we rented a car at the FLL Airport. We were offered the option of paying a daily fee that would opt us in the toll program. We could use the toll roads and not worry about accidentally getting in an express lane or carrying cash or stopping to pay for tolls. The tolls were charged to our credit card. If we chose not to enroll at time of the rental, and we incurred toll charges a $15.00 administrative fee + toll would be assessed for each infraction. I don't recall which car rental company we used, but I imagine all the rental companies are pretty similar.

yestravel, I was offered that too with Hertz. As I recall the daily fee was something like $3.50 a day (regardless of whether you used any toll roads or not). Since I was renting for 13 days, I decided I'd take my chances on NOT needing it at all. And it seemed to me that if I accidentally encountered one such toll situation, the $15 for the one time was better than $7 for the length of the rental ($45.50). Since I didn't encounter any such toll roads, I saved the money. Is my math wrong? To me, paying that much just for "peace of mind" really doesn't make much sense, but to others, perhaps it does.

Please excuse that odd $7 above. I have no idea what that was about!

I didn't get it either using the same logic as you. We were rather neurotic at first when driving on the freeways being extra cautious in order to avoid the express lanes. Whoever said its another way for the rental agencies to get extra bucks is right.

Patrick... the Florida turnpike website says that unmanned booths accept coins, so to me that indicates that all exits are either

A)sensor express lanes,

B) "toll by Plate" which is an express lane that reads your license and bills you

C) manned. When they go home they convert to Coin...

D)Coin basket

Florida has a good number of toll roads with off ramps that are marked SunPass only. On those there is no option other than the pass or getting a bill for the toll PLUS a fine. So, if you are in a rental without a pass, you can either 1. take the exit and pay the fine + the rental company administrative charges; 2. Pass the exit and find your way back to your destination; 3. Take the rental company's deal when you pick up the car; 4. Buy a SunPass. You can do the latter through the SunPass website or mail you will get it in about a week. The least expensive one sticks to the windshield and can't be transferred. It is $5 plus a $10 minimum prepay that can be refilled with a credit card if needed. On returning the rental you must remove the pass - it will be destroyed when you do that. It will not work unless stuck to the windshield - you can't just leave it on the dash or hold it up the windshield .