Does EZ Pass work in Orlando now?

[RunningBum]

I know we've got some Floridians on the board. I'm reading that Florida agreed last year to accept EZ Pass, at least on the toll ways run by CFX. Is that effective yet? I'm heading down to Orlando on Friday, driving between MCO, Disney, and Universal Studios. Wondering if I should take my EZ Pass transponder. I guess Hertz uses Plate Pass, so I'd pay $4.95/day that it's used plus tolls.

 

[easysurfer]

I'm not from Florida, but doing some searching, I say EZ Pass is not covered.

E-ZPass Group - Where can I use it?

Florida's Turnpike

Hope some folks can confirm for you one way or another.

 

[meierlde]

If coming from the north you can buy a $5 sunpass at the first rest stop in the state, or at a CVS or Walgreens or Publix. Then you register it, make a deposit, and after the end of your stay in Fl just go online and cancel the account. (I live in Tx and did this about a year ago)

 

[RunningBum]

I'm not from Florida, but doing some searching, I say EZ Pass is not covered.

E-ZPass Group - Where can I use it?

Florida's Turnpike

Hope some folks can confirm for you one way or another.

The new agreement is supposedly going into effect this spring. I was hoping the tourist info sites just hadn't been updated yet. I think your first link is an official site and probably correct but could possibly just not be updated as well.

The second link, for the Florida Turnpike is a different agency, and they haven't made an agreement with EZ pass yet, but I shouldn't need to use that road.

 

[RunningBum]

If coming from the north you can buy a $5 sunpass at the first rest stop in the state, or at a CVS or Walgreens or Publix. Then you register it, make a deposit, and after the end of your stay in Fl just go online and cancel the account. (I live in Tx and did this about a year ago)

Flying, then driving within Orlando from MCO. Probably not worth bothering as it's a drop in the bucket of the whole trip cost, but I just hate rental car surcharges.

 

[harley]

Even though I'm a FL resident, I don't bother with Sunpass. I just drive through and they bill me via mail later. We seldom go through a toll plaza or I might sign up. I'd love for them to start accepting EZPass since I've got one of those.

 

[Dtail]

Even though I'm a FL resident, I don't bother with Sunpass. I just drive through and they bill me via mail later. We seldom go through a toll plaza or I might sign up. I'd love for them to start accepting EZPass since I've got one of those.

I currently do the same, but there is an admin charge with each billing, although rarely go through those roads either.

 

[pb4uski]

I got the $5 Sunpass... it works just like EZPass once you have registered other than you can't move the $5 version from car to car..

 

[easysurfer]

The new agreement is supposedly going into effect this spring. I was hoping the tourist info sites just hadn't been updated yet. I think your first link is an official site and probably correct but could possibly just not be updated as well.

The second link, for the Florida Turnpike is a different agency, and they haven't made an agreement with EZ pass yet, but I shouldn't need to use that road.

Thanks for clarification. As you can tell, I did a quick and dirty search .

 

[RunningBum]

Thanks for clarification. As you can tell, I did a quick and dirty search .

No, really, you hit official sites, rather than quoting a 2 year old tourist site that says no way. The first thing I found was the agreement from last fall that it would happen this spring, and I was trying to convince myself that it was in effect now. You drove it home, making me realize the official site would've been updated with something had it happened. Nobody else needs to reply, I'm convinced. And I'm not going to go hunt down a different pass. I'll live with the extra $15 that Hertz will hit me with.

 

[omni550]

Sorry, can't help you about the E-Z Pass use in Florida query (although my Google searches say "not yet").

I am a seasonal SW FL resident and love having the $5 SunPass....makes drives to and around Miami, the Keys, and Tampa a no-brainer. Don't give toll roads a second thought.

And it looks like I'll be able to use the SunPass on my north-south 'repositioning' drives on the toll sections of I-75 south of Atlanta.

omni

 

[pb4uski]

Now... I have both SunPass and EZPass... if they ever get around to taking EZPass in Florida and I drive through a SunPass booth will I get charged twice... once on each one?

 

[Sunset]

Now... I have both SunPass and EZPass... if they ever get around to taking EZPass in Florida and I drive through a SunPass booth will I get charged twice... once on each one?

Yep. !!

 

[Sunset]

If coming from the north you can buy a $5 sunpass at the first rest stop in the state, or at a CVS or Walgreens or Publix. Then you register it, make a deposit, and after the end of your stay in Fl just go online and cancel the account. (I live in Tx and did this about a year ago)

And do they refund you the money that is left in deposit ?

 

[harley]

Now... I have both SunPass and EZPass... if they ever get around to taking EZPass in Florida and I drive through a SunPass booth will I get charged twice... once on each one?

I suspect so. At one point I had two EZPasses due to having sold a car and not notifying EZPass to cancel the one. One was in my glove compartment, but when I checked I discovered that the scanner was picking them both up and charging me twice. My own fault, and easily remedied by wrapping the old one in an Arby's Roast Beef Sandwich aluminum foil wrapper until I could take it out of the car. But that test would indicate that yes, you'll get double charged.

 

[cathy63]

I'll live with the extra $15 that Hertz will hit me with.

If you use Waze or Google Maps, they both have settings to avoid toll roads. I haven't rented a car in central Florida lately, but this worked fine in South Florida last month. Just for grins, I checked what the routes would be with and without the no-toll settings, and found we would save less than 10 minutes of driving time by paying tolls.

 

[omni550]

If you use Waze or Google Maps, they both have settings to avoid toll roads. I haven't rented a car in central Florida lately, but this worked fine in South Florida last month. Just for grins, I checked what the routes would be with and without the no-toll settings, and found we would save less than 10 minutes of driving time by paying tolls.

It's been about a decade+ since I was in Orlando. I recall trying to avoid toll roads to/from the airport, and IMHO it was virtually impossible.

omni

 

[MichaelB]

And I'm not going to go hunt down a different pass. I'll live with the extra $15 that Hertz will hit me with.

Good decision.

 

[braumeister]

We're beginning to see a little consolidation among them.

I love my EZ-Pass, and since I often drive through Kansas I also have a K-Tag. They recently announced that K-Tag is now also accepted on some toll roads in Oklahoma and Texas.

One small anomaly: About ten years ago I was driving on a toll road in central Florida. I pulled up to the toll booth to pay, and the attendant looked at me funny:
"Can I help you?"
"Just need to pay the toll."
"You didn't have to stop; your electronic tag registered."
"Oh, thanks."

I looked over at my EZ-Pass transponder and just shook my head. Never figured that one out.

 

[mpeirce]

If you use Waze or Google Maps, they both have settings to avoid toll roads.

Apple Maps has this as well.

Either use Settings > Maps > Driving & Navigation > Avoid Tolls or - my favorite - you can use Siri:

"Take me to the Orlando Airport avoiding tolls"​

 

[jonat]

Waze also has a setting to tell it that you have a transponder for one of a bunch of toll systems.

As for Hertz in Florida, they once billed me months afterward for driving on a toll road I wasn't within 100 miles of. I had to fight it out with the toll road people, but they accepted copies of various charge receipts I had showing I was nowhere near the area. Ever since then I have kept such records for at least six months.

 

[meierlde]

And do they refund you the money that is left in deposit ?

Yes when you close the account they do. I had to have the windshield on my care replaced so I removed the sunpass token, and on line got the account canceled, and they refunded the money to the credit card account within a week.
I suspect that before I return to Fl the tx-tag sunpass interop will be in place said to be before the end of the year.