Critic

Yep, that'd be 4 days at $2.95. The convenience fee is per rental day, even if you go a full 24 hours without using a toll facility.

sdsearch

Not everyone knows all their routes far enough in advance to be able to research them this way. Toll entrances should be clearly makred (when there's still a chance to turn and avoid them) about methods of payment accepted, but gosh, I've seen toll entrances that weren['t marked at all! I think it was in the Buffalo area that I was headed on a free interstate going south, I took the ramp for the wrong direction of the east-west highway (going east instead of west), nowhere at the entrance of that ramp did it say I was entering a toll road, and then after I got off the ramp on the westbound interstate I found myself on a toll road with no chance to exit before the toll booth! I had to argue for minutes with the toll attendant (who claimed there were signs, but didn't understand which way I had been coming and was telling me only about signs coming from other direcitons!) before they grudgingly accepted me going on to exit at the next exit without paying.

And, no, I couldn't have reserarched this ahead of time, because I didn't know ahead of time where I'd be going. In fact, if I hadn't taken the wrong ramp (east instead of west), I wouldn't have been in this situation (and how can you research what will happen if you take a wrong turn?!? ).

sdsearch

Note for those doing rentals of more than 5 days: The $2.95/day is capped at $14.75 per rental month (per my receipt for my last toll-using rental, 2 weeks in Puerto Rico in December). Divide $2.95 into $14.75 and you see that it comes out to exactly 5.

So for much longer rentals it's a much better deal. For my 14-day rental, that worked out to only a bit over $1 per rental day.

And I went through 16 separate tolls. And iin Puerto Rico, on many highways, there are "don't slow down" toll plazas for those using the electronic tolls, while long lines for those trying to pay manually. And in some places, the only limited access road around is this kind of toll road, and the only alternative is a very slow two-lane road going through small towns every few minutes. Sso this auto-toll feature saved me a lot of time.

So IMHO for that trip it was worth it, even though I wasn't using toll roads every day (some days several toll plazas the same day, though, obviously), because the $14.95 was the same for my 14-day rental as it would have been for a 5-day rental, and because toll roads were so helpful compared to the alternatives there.

Obviously, though, it depends on your exact situation as to whether it's going to be worth it for you.

darben

I know where you are talking about. THere is a big sign that says " LAST Exit before toll. yOU DID NOT SEE IT NOT THE THRUWAYS PROBLEM. Don.t you have a gps you can program to avoid toll roads? I know it is everyone elses fault you went on the toll part but you could have been proactive

sdsearch

It may have said "last exit before toll", but that last exit was ambiguous. There were two ramps ahead, one east and one west, and nothing on the eastbound ramp sing to indicate that was the one with the toll, and nothing on the westbound ramp sign to indicate that was the exit "before the toll". So it was useless sign without explaining the toll difference between the two ramps.

In other cities, I'm used to a very obvious "TOLL" sign on any exit that is to a toll road. But I looked above at the east exit sign and at the west exit sign, and neither said I'd be entering a toll road. And I did take an exit, so why should not have thought (without additional signs) after "last exit before toll" that I was taking the exit to avoid the toll???

Anyway, I now have a GPS, but I didn't at the time I took that trip. (Ironically, I haven't wanted to avoid tolls while doing car rentals yet since I got my GPS. I did want to take toll roads in Austria -- where it was my own sticker and not Avis', and anyway where you're billed only when you buy the sticker, not per use or per day, it's just that the sticker is limited to a certain number of days -- and I did want to take toll roads in Puerto Rico, where it was Avis' toll feature that I used.)

And although there are some toll roads where I live & work in SoCal, (a) I know where they are and can avoid them "intiuitively" and (b) I only need to either take or avoid them once in a blue moon (ie, they're not more efficient routes anywhere I drive routinely). So even without "avoid tolls" set on my GPS, it was easy enough, the one time I drove with it from above LAX to SAN on the 405, to avoid its urges to have me take the Orange County toll road 73 that parallels the 405/5 merge in Irvine. I just kept going on the 405 (southbound) or 5 (norhtbound) and let the GPS "recalculate".

Tiger Dude

Is there really an argument that the charge is not a ripoff? Sure companies are in business to make money, and thereforce some of them choose to sock it to their customers.

I attribute the desire to blame the poster on either:

1)people in this forum are so used to Avis that their expectation is extremely low.

2) The internet produces rude people.

IAHtraveler

I agree with you on 2 counts:
1. people can be rude on the internet b/c they can "hide" behind a keyboard/screen without consequences. Also, it's not personal for many on here who don't have personal relationships with other FTers.
2. It's definitely a ripoff on the toll set-up by Avis (and I'm sure others). But as renters, we have options and can pick other options than using this service.

darben

I will argue it is not a ripoff. The fee is disclosed ahead of time on the contract you are required to sign (but may have been in too big a hurry to read). It is on their website where it says "Avis e-Toll is our company's electronic toll collection program which makes road travel more convenient! Avis e-Toll eliminates the need for travelers to carry change or wait in long cash payment lines at toll plazas and allows Avis renters to zip through electronic toll payment lanes.

Avis e-Toll cannot be reserved in advance, but is already installed in many cars. Avis e-Toll is optional and available for a low daily fee plus the cost of tolls. Northeast ( Maine to Virginia/Chicago Areas, and Puerto Rico )
In these areas simply drive through a designated EZ Pass (Northeast), or I-Pass (Chicago) transponder based lane, swing open the transponder box. In Puerto Rico, you can drive through a designated AutoExpreso based lane. The sticker tag is located in the vehicle, just drive through. Your credit card will be charged the standard non-discounted fee for the toll roads as published by the toll authority, plus the convenience fee of $2.95 per day ($14.75 maximum per month). There is no charge for Avis e-Toll unless you use it. "

This is not a ripoff; it is an uniformed consumer or a lazy consumer. Is the fee excessive? Like beauty that is in the eye of the beholder. There are ways to avoid the fee but the poster did not avail himself of the alternatives.

There are multiple threads on the subject of the fee on flyertalk which the OP did not read.

At what point does the person take responsibility for their actions instead of blaming other factors.

Lastly if you do not like the fee rent elsewhere.

bkafrick

^ +1 on this whole response.

razorbite

Guess it depends how convenient it is.
I only rent cars for leisure purposes.
My next rental will be out of Tampa for a 2 week road trip around Florida.
At $14.95 max(plus tolls), to me that is not a rip-off.
I'm not a local, I have no idea where the tolls are, I will be driving on the wrong side of the road so not having to bother about tolls is well worth the price.

nacho

One way to solve the problem is to get a 'out-of-state' car. The FL cashless road does freak me out - especially if you only use the toll like once or twice during a 10 days trip.

I read some FT posts saying that Avis still charges you even if you are using your own Toll stickers in Florida.

bocasierra

Just got back from a week in Orlando/Tampa. Thanks to the recommendations on this forum, I bought a SunPass Mini sticker a few weeks before the trip and taped it to the windshield, then used the SunPass mobile app to add the car license plate to my account for the duration of my stay. Before leaving the Avis lot I verified with the gate attendant that the Avis installed transponder was in the OFF position. Seems to have worked very well as my online SunPass account shows all the tolls I encountered correctly debited. It probably didn't save much for one trip as the Mini sticker is $5 and Avis would have charged $14.75, but I'm in Florida a few times a year and can re-use the sticker so over time I'll save a little.

MarTN

In Houston in March we drove on the toll roads twice and stopped and paid cash for the tolls. [The kids were fascinated by this, btw.] 10 days after returning home we received an email about a $1 toll plus $14.75 convenience fee.
Hoping a phone call will fix it.

nacho

This is ridiculous. They shouldn't charge you for something you haven't used. Please let us know the outcome.

Critic

Did any of the toll roads use open-road tolling (gantry only, no booth) at any point? That'd trigger an e-toll, and the service charge for the length of your rental...