Car Rental with E-ZPass
 

We plan to be driving around the Tri-States with a rental car this spring for a about five days. Can anybody give me any tips and suggestions about renting a transponder or whatever it is that cars have that allow them to go through toll booths without handing over money/credit cards? Is it something available for cars so that they can just charge to an account without stopping at toll booths?

Welcome to FlyerTalk, Dillinger Newcastle VII! I have moved your post to its own thread, rather than continuing the older, somewhat unrelated thread to which you originally posted.

/Moderator



EZ-Pass is what you are looking for, and should be available through most rental car agencies - you generally pay a daily fee and the tolls are billed directly to your credit card:

https://www.e-zpassny.com/en/home/index.shtml

It's also possible to get your own E-Z Pass to use on this trip and subsequent ones:

https://www.e-zpassny.com/en/onthego/locations.shtml

Whether it makes sense to get your own depends on how many toll roads/crossings you will traverse, and whether you will have future use for the transponder.

If you will be using Port Authority bridges or tunnels to cross the Hudson River and there will be at least three of you in the car, getting your own transponder and signing up for the (free) Port Authority car-pool program will save you several dolls on each crossing.

If you simply use the rental-car company's transponder, you will be charged the full, cash toll everywhere, in addition to being charged a daily "convenience" fee for every day of the rental -- even if you only use the transponder just once.

There will be at least three of us in the vehicle and we will cross from NJ into NY at least twice (probably through the Holland Tunnel). I know there are other toll routes in Interstate freeways in Southern NY and NE NJ. Our trip will be about five days.

And this is probably the only time we will visit the Tri-States area for at least five years.

Any recommendations?

You can buy one at most cash lanes. Some get the Illinois I-pass (by mail) as I think it might be a bit cheaper. They are both valid in about 15 states.

Easiest solution is just to rent it from the rental car agency. But, depends on your budget.

Hertz and Avis pass through the full cash toll rate and charge the convenience fee for every day of the rental (up to a maximum aggregate fee per rental) if you use the transponder at all during the course of the rental.

But not National/Alamo/Enterprise. They only charge the convenience fee on days you actually use the transponder (up to a max aggregate fee per rental). And I'm pretty sure (but not 100% sure) that they pass through the actual toll charged by the tolling authority, not the cash rate.

So if you plan to hit a lot of toll roads/crossings during your rental, then I would try to rent from National/Alamo/Enterprise and not Hertz or Avis (I'm not sure about Dollar or Thrifty, although I think they use the same system as Hertz so they probably have the crappier policy).


I don't think there's any advantage to having an I-Pass over an EZ Pass if you're only driving in the NYC area. On the contrary, I'm pretty sure (but could be wrong) that the PACP (Port Authority Carpool Plan--a big money saver for those who cross the Hudson with 3+ people) isn't available with I-Pass.

That said, if you're a NY resident you want to be sure and get your EZ Pass from the MTA/TBTA or from the NYS Thruway authority and NOT from Port Authority, as Port Authority charges a $1/mo fee that the others don't charge. Transponders issued by all of those agencies are eligible for the PACP.

To the OP, I would probably just get a transponder from the rental car company when you pick up your car, especially if you can rent from National/Alamo/Enterprise. You won't be able to take advantage of the PACP and you'll have to pay the convenience charge, but if you're not going to use it again in the near future, I think the extra $30 or so you'll spend is worth avoiding the hassle of getting your own transponder, then returning it to get a refund of your balance. Especially since I'm guessing (by your handle) that you're not a US resident, which may make both getting a transponder and returning it trickier.

There was a discussion on this in one of the rental car threads that had some reasons for I-pass being a good option, but can't find it.

Yes, just to clarify. We are not USA residents. We potentially plan to use one of the three rental car companies you mentioned. We will have more than three people in the vehicle. And this is the only visit planned to the Tri-States area for the foreseeable future.

So how does this $30 work? What do you mean by "a refund of your balance"?

With the transponder, you fill your transponder account with a certain amount of money up front. The account is debited as you go through toll lanes. WHen your balance falls below a certain amount, either you send in a check or they auto-charge your credit card to refill your account.

When you return the transponder, they refund any remaining balance in your account.

Given that you're not from the US and only plan to need the transponder for a single five day period, I'd suggest you just use the rental company's service.

Agreed, just use the transponder from the rental agency. It'll be much easier, you barely need to think. And go with National/Enterprise/Alamo so you're only charged the administrative fees on days when you use the EZpass. Even if you're going to use it every day, I urge you to go with National etc. out of principle! :)

So just to clarify. If we rent a transponder, the only advantage is that we can breeze through the toll booths (especially if we are more than three people) but there are no savings (other than time). Renting a transponder from the car rental agency is just a cost for the convenience.

Does that about sum it up?

I have absolutely been charged the cash rate (and not the discounted EZPass rate) while using a transponder rented from National.

I was surprised by this as I'd rented the transponder specifically because it would save me a few $. I called and complained - National returned the difference to me.

The OP (and anyone reading this thread in the future) should note that there is a growing trend to completely eliminate the ability to do cash payments at toll booths in the NYC area.

http://web.mta.info/bandt/ezpass/faq.html

I echo the advice in this thread to plan on using a transponder provided by a rental car agency for this specific case (out-of-town renter with no plans to ever use the service again). I travel to the San Francisco Bay Area about once or twice a year and have a transponder for that area so I can do cashless tolls when driving there.

So are there any savings on the actual tolls by using the EZ Pass as opposed to paying cash/credit card at the toll booth? For instance, from what I've read, the cost to get from NJ to Manhattan is $15. What would be the cost using EZ Pass?

And does anyone know the approximate cost to rent a transponder from a car rental agency?