tbassny

Adding to Westcoaster's data, my SFO charges came in as well. $2.95 per day is now $4.95 per day "administrative fee." Maximum is now $24.75 per month (up from, what was it? $12 something?).

Case in point: 4 days in San Fran, crossed the Golden Gate Bridge once ($5 Fastrak toll), charged $20.85.

Absolutely outrageous.

ijgordon

Yes, the price outrageous. But it's disclosed, in your rental contract, and it's avoidable.
http://www.goldengate.org/tolls/rentalvehicles.php
http://www.goldengate.org/tolls/rent...rams.php#hertz

tbassny

I'm pleased you also find it outrageous, and the one time payment info you posted is a great option. I'm opting more toward that instead of a personal Fastrac, due to issues people have reported in having both a Fastrac and a Platepass transponder in the vehicle. The one time payment also appears to be the preferred opt-out method listed at the toll link you posted. Thank you for taking the time to post the options.

milohoss

I was just charged $25.80 for crossing the Golden Gate Bridge by Hertz. (The actual toll is $6).

The reason, of course, is that I didn't sign up for their idiotic "PlatePass" system. It never occurred to me because I don't care about using express lanes and I am happy to pay cash tolls.

Unfortunately, the Golden Gate has recently gone to an "electronic only" system that gives you no choice.

Naturally I'm furious and wasting more time than my crummy $20 is worth to try and rectify this. If there were other options, I would find their system understandable. But it is unconscionable that Hertz would kick in this system on a bridge that has NO OTHER OPTION. It's not like it costs Hertz anything anyway.

I am strongly considering getting some kind of class action lawsuit together about this to ban these toll scams on bridges or tunnels where you do not have any other options.

Anyone else out there been hit by this?

azepine00

Not there but i had to pay fines because of unmanned booths in some places. This is pretty outrageous.

mikew99

Whenever I rent a car from Hertz (or any other car rental company), I always decline the automatic toll payment systems due to the car rental companies' extortionate fees to use their transponders. It's a shame that what could be a convenience to the renter is seen as a money grab by most car rental companies.

That said, you do have a choice, at least for the Golden Gate: You can pay the toll by making a one-time payment via credit card either before or after you cross. If you choose this option, it's important to remove and/or disable the car rental company's transponder, so that you don't inadvertently pay the toll twice (and incur the car rental company's excessive fees).

minhaoxue

I sympathize but this has been known for over a year. I even heard about it here in China about the Golden Gate Bridge going over to an all electronic practice. I even think there is a sticker near the Fast Track transponder in the Hertz Rental Car stating the fees and options.

Scottrick

In defense of Hertz, their Plate Pass system is used across their fleet. You had the choice to use a different bridge. Why should they make exceptions becuase of a decision by the local transportation authorities and your ignorance of the new policy?

Just last weekend I returned a Hertz car I drove up to Santa Rosa. I could return via Golden Gate or via the San Rafael and Bay Bridges. I chose the latter specifically to avoid the fees you mentioned. It took only 10 minutes longer (out of a 2.5 hour drive), which tends to be the largest difference I ever see in transit time between the two options.

CalItalian

I live in Los Angeles and frequent the bay area a few times a year (rarely cross the bridge but I was at it in September 2012). Never heard about it before I read this thread. I see it is true but again, I've never heard about it.

This is the car rental info page for the Golden Gate bridge http://www.goldengate.org/tolls/rentalvehicles.php

lhrsfo

I was led to believe by the Hertz returns supervisor at SFO that you cannot disable or decline PlatePass.

I own a Fastrak which I use in place of PlatePass. However, occasionally I don't get the double beep and a PlatePass charge appears on my account - and my blood boils!!

I searched and searched and found no proper explanation of how the system works but I think it's low tech. My supposition (which has only been tested by my experience to date) is that, if a car goes through without a Fastrak double beep, a camera photographs the license plate. This number is then checked against the database of Fastrak users and the charge is applied to that user if a match is found. If a match is not found, it's then run against the registered PlatePass license plates, and, if a match is found, it's then applied to PlatePass. If there's no match, a ticket is issued.

This accords with the instruction I have received from someone at Hertz (who probably did not really know or care) that I should register the car for Fastrak on picking it up, and de-register it on return.

CalItalian

They don't just record the license plate, they record the VIN number from the dashboard. I know this from what has been occuring in Los Angeles with Fastrak on the 110 and 10 freeways former carpool lanes. It's also mentioned when you read on the Golden Gate Bridge page about how to pay if you don't have a license plate yet.

milohoss

I genuinely think this is grounds for a class action lawsuit.

Since the all-electronic thing went in to place the cost to Hertz to handle the fees is precisely zero. Charging me a dollar for someone's time would be annoying but I could actually find it understandable. Charging me an extra $19.80 is beyond immoral, it is legalized theft.

Again - the "PlatePass" thing makes sense in ares where people have a choice and Hertz may have to pay some kind of admin costs. But on a bridge with zero options, the bridge authority is the one taking care of 100% of the admin costs. There is zero cost to hertz, period.

The idea that I should know in advance whether I was going to use the bridge is ridiculous. My plans changed, I had to run an errand in Marin. It's utterly absurd that I should have to plan for that.

And no, you don't have the choice to "use another bridge" ... if you think taking a 60 minute detour is a reasonable "choice" you're out of your mind.

Anyway, sorry to turn this into a rant. But this is 100% indefensible, and I certainly hope others will complain.

cordelli

Not really sure how many threads we need about the same thing.

Exactly how did you expect to pay as you were approaching the bridge? If you don't have transponder of your own, it's gonna probably be by plate pass. If you don't want to pay the fee, don't go through a toll with it.

Not really sure how this is Hertz's issue at all. If you didn't want to use the plate pass, you should have not rented from an agency that uses it, or rented from one that uses something else and has lower fees.

Not really Hertz's fault you didn't know you had other options, didn't know you could have prepaid.

For those searching in the future, you do have other options, as spelled out on the Bridge's toll page

If you prefer to not use the tolling program offered by your rental company, you must (1) Ask your rental car company if you have to Opt-Out and follow the instructions, and (2) Take action before you first cross the Golden Gate Bridge (heading south into San Francisco) by making a One-Time Payment. Once you have your rental vehicle, take note of the license plate number and the end date of your rental period. You can make a One-Time Payment using any of the following methods:

Online using a credit card at www.bayareafastrak.org.

By phone using a credit card: Toll free (877) BAY-TOLL (877-229-8655), outside California 415-486-8655. Hours of Operation: Monday through Friday 8:30 am to 5:30 pm, Saturday 9:00 am to 1:00 pm.

In person using cash at a Cash Payment Location.

In person using credit card or cash, check, money order: Bay Area FasTrak Customer Service Center, 475 The Embarcadero (at Broadway), San Francisco, CA. Hours of Operation: Monday through Friday 8:30 am to 5:30 pm, Saturday 9:00 am to 1:00 pm.

You may also open a limited duration License Plate Account before crossing the Golden Gate Bridge. To ensure the License Plate Account is only activated for the length of the rental period, you must be sure to include the end date of your rental contract as the ‘Closure Date’ when completing the application. To learn more about a License Plate Account, click here.

marvanit

You had many choices on how to pay without using Plate Pass as Cordelli just outlined. No merit for a class action lawsuit. What is your argument?

ELOW

I have to agree with others here. It is your responsibility to do research in advance of your trip to avoid situations like these. Like others have said, you could've avoided this with several options.
Not trying to be mean but did you really think Hertz was just going to charge you for the toll fee only?