JumboJet

Mooooo
Sounds like a cash cow is crossing the bridge

rascally14

My credit card statement now shows that I was charged $43.43Canadian which is $32.40US for crossing the bridge.

I'm' about to call Hertz, but I live in Asia now so have to stay up late to call to catch their office hours. I also saw that the City of SFO is beginning a class action suit.

I feel that I was broadsided by this toll. All we did was cross the bridge to get a view and turn around to go back and then as I passed through the e-gates, I thought, oh bother, not knowing how this would end up.

Ripping off the tourists is their game.

I rented for 17 days and had a great rental from Hertz... new car, good service from where we rented at Marriott LAX.

Colin

Can I simply place on the dash of my rental car my personal So Cal (issued by LA Metro Express Lanes) FasTrak transponder and then use all No Cal toll bridges without worry about invoking the car rental company toll program?

The confusion I am under is why I would need to register the rental vehicle license plate number to my FasTrak account? I am assuming the toll agency will bill my FasTrak account and thus never need to go the next step of scanning the license plate to send a bill to the rental car company.

FlyinHawaiian

That's exactly what I do (although I am using the NoCal-issued transponder without the slider passenger switch) and haven't had any problems. I don't bother registering a license plate.

ijgordon

Generally, as long as there is a transponder reader (as opposed to the toll collection being exclusively by license plate), you should be fine. The car registration is backup in case the transponder isn't read properly.

That said, if you do use your own transponder during the rental, and one or two toll charges bypass the transponder and get sent through to PlatePass, they are actually good about crediting you back the administrative fee (you still have to pay them the tolls though). You just send your Ezpass statement showing other toll charges during the rental. Only took a few days to sort out in my case (which was on a DE or MD toll). Of course if you ONLY go through the GGB and it doesn't register, you might be out of luck here.

kxc262

Yes this is fine. FasTrak prioritizes transponder scanning ahead of pay-by-plate.

If your transponder is captured, you are good. If it misses the transponder, the bill will get directed to the rental agency.

When I rent cars, I add the plate to my FasTrak account because it allows me to not need a transponder and also ensures that I will not be billed the rental car transponder fee.

Colin

and then remember to remove the plate from your FasTrak account!

MojaveFlyer

When I tried to do that in Washington State I was told that I could not do so as it was already registered. In other words, Hertz went and registered the plate in addition to having the transponder, so there was no way I could avoid using the plate pass rip off. Very annoying.

kxc262

Have had similar experiences with Avis + EZPass. They waived the fees for me since I told them I had my own transponder.

JordanWalker

I don't have any transponders. So after Golden Gate bridge, it's best I pay online by myself?

kxc262

I recommend this - you can pay here. https://www.bayareafastrak.org/en/gu...idgeToll.shtml

klanfa

When do PlatePass charges normally post? Returned the car on Monday morning and still no charge - I know it's coming but I just wanted to know when to expect it.

klanfa

The charge came in today - 5 days after the car return.

docbert

It can take up to several weeks for all charges to appear.

The problem isn't Hertz or PlatePass, it's just down to how long it takes for the toll companies to pass on the details to PlatePass. Sometimes that can be near instantaneous. Sometimes it's deliberately delayed (eg, the Golden Gate Bridge, where they hold charges for at least 48 hours as you can pay online up to 48 hours after you use the bridge). And sometimes it's just outright slow.

For a recent trip to Dallas I had to wait close to 2 weeks before all of the charges hit the PlatePass website.

Wise-Broccoli8301

Bumping an old thread but I was going through the motions of adding a rental car to my FasTrak account and I saw today that you can specify starting time and ending time for when the vehicle is active. It's almost as if FasTrak's website is designed for this! I'm not sure if this is a new feature or not.