SpammersAreScum

Good idea, and MCO too; maybe TPA. But it'll never happen because it would cut into the car rental agencies' little racket.

Newark7

How did the mini-transponder w/ scotch tape work in your rental car? It worked ok with the backing still covering the adhesive? (the website says the mini-transponder uses the window as an antenna, so not sure if direct (sticky) contact is necessary). I'm looking at renting a car from Dollar at MIA to South Beach & want to avoid their $10.50/day plate-reader toll scam.

iahphx

Yes, despite the warning it worked fine. I did it after another poster said it worked fine. So with 2 confirmations that it works, I guess it's reasonably safe to ignore the instructions.

Also, if it didn't work, I think you'd be covered if you also register your license plate to your account. It's kind of the back-up system.

JohnnyColombia

Where are the Sunpass (or similar) tolls near MCO? I drove MCO to Ocala in December and it is all cash. I actually missed one and drove through the prepaid lane but didn't get charged the $100 by Alamo. If you hit all the tolls then it is about $5 each way. Much more tourist friendly than MIA

JohnnyColombia

Would you have to do this from the Rental Car Center? So you get your car, drive down to one of those shonky looking gas stations on Le Jeune, park up, get your iPhone out and do this quickly? Not ideal for people without data plans but otherwise not too much of a pain.

I think I have made my peace with the system. I get decent discounts at Alamo as a UK travel industry professional, their rates are completely inclusive of insurance and CDW and their policy with the tolls is arguably the fairest. I end up spending an extra $13.50 per rental which I can swallow without it tasting too bitter.

iahphx

I believe there is a grace period to register your rental car license plate on the SunPass website. But this is only a back-up system; their toll equipment should read your Sunpass sticker.

I do agree that for an infrequent traveler, renting from Alamo/National/Enterprise is a reasonable solution to the Miami toll problem. Yes, you will get "overcharged," but it's not as egregious as with some other companies. That said, any regular visitor to Miami should take 5 minutes and stop at a local Walgreens, etc., get the decal, take the 2 minutes to register their rental car, and avoid this rip-off.

EDIT: BTW, I began my last trip in FLL, bought a Sunpass decal there, registered my car, and drove down to Miami a few hours later -- triggering a toll. Interestingly, my transponder correctly recorded all my tolls for the week EXCEPT the ones that I went through the day I bought the decal. For those, my account says Florida billed me by plate, and these charges took a few weeks to hit my account.

This suggests to me that there's probably an activation delay on the transponders. I therefore think it's particularly important with a new decal to immediately register your rental car license plate on the Sunpass site, so they know to bill your account and not the rental car company (which could trigger large fees even with only one toll passage).

SpammersAreScum

I seem to recall that the first toll on hwy 17 (71?) between I4 and MCO had a "Sunpass" Lane, which I used. Subsequent tolls you either stayed on the main road if you were "prepaid" or detoured through a booth; and none of the booths said Sunpasx but one said Epass. I stayed on the main road and hoped that was right.

JohnnyColombia

So you stayed on the main road and went through the prepaid lanes, but on what basis were you prepaid? I stopped and asked at one booth if Sunpass worked and the guy said something along the lines of "Ooh no we don't have that around here." So you did you have something else which allowed you to prepay in that part of Florida?

Sorry if I am taking this thread a little too far north.

teddybear99

He lied, Epass and Sunpass can be used with the Sunpass transponder. Epass prefers you have theirs as they don't need to give up a "cut" to Sunpass to process the transactions.

In Miami, the MDX expressways have always used Sunpass since its inception. In the last year the toll authority of the city of Miami converted the Rickenbacker and Venetian Causeways to Sunpass. Also, Bay Harbor Islands' Broad Causeway also converted, so you don't need any other transponder.

I've been told that the state passed legislation to require this with all toll authorities, but I have not been able to find it in the State Statutes.

Happy

The Toll by Plate charge hit what account? Your mini Transponder account or the rental car billed you a few weeks to your CC account?

PhotoJim

We were in Fort Lauderdale/Miami two weeks ago. No issues using my SunPass transponder. I registered the rental car right at the rental company garage at the airport (thank goodness my Canadian mobile network only charges 7 cents/MB for roaming data in the US).

Just to remind people, if you have a US address you can buy a SunPass transponder online. I got the one with the suction cups (it's easier to use but it is bigger). Check the SunPass app on your phone, or the SunPass website after your first day to make sure the tolls are charging correctly (i.e. that you correctly installed your transponder).

iahphx

My own sunpass account, of course.

Happy

So you registered the rental car plate shortly after you purchased the mini pass, for the period you would have the rental car.

A few hours later you used your first toll road - and that toll charge did not show up until weeks later in your Sunpass account, while all other tolls after the initial one, showed up in your Sunpass account timely.

Do I understand the whole thing correctly?

That we can safely assume that as long as the rental car plate is registered, ALL tolls after registration would be on the Sunpass, even the initial one that got billed as Toll by Plate at a higher rate, but still would go to the Sunpass instead of the rental car.

I wonder if one activates the Transponder earlier than 24 hours before, would the initial toll be captured by the transponder?

iahphx

Yes.

Which is why it's important to register your rental car on the Sunpass system, especially for a new transponder.

teddybear99

It may be too late now, but they should not have charged you the toll by plate rate which is double the toll on the MDX expressways. You should have appealed these charges as you were registered. Also, even if you register after the fact it does ask you the time you started using your rental car as well, so it should only charge the Sunpass rate.