Dealing with all the Orlando Florida Tolls......

[mj2vacation]

I live in Virginia and have Virginia tags. When in Florida, I just blow through toll plazas. If they track me down and send me a bill, I'll pay it. But, it hasn't happened yet.

It would be wonderful if SunPass and EZPass could work out compatibility issues, which were supposed to have been resolved back in 2016.

I was in traffic court fighting a ticket (I won). Most of the other people were there for running tolls.

Not an insignificant fine when you get caught.

 

[PigsDad]

I was in traffic court fighting a ticket (I won). Most of the other people were there for running tolls.

Not an insignificant fine when you get caught.

Maybe I'm confused, but if the only option is the license-plate toll at an exit or checkpoint, what exactly is someone from out-of-state supposed to do? I don't think they have any other option.

In Colorado, all of our toll roads are license-plate tolls now -- no toll booths or kiosks. All drivers are directed to drive through the checkpoints and a bill will be sent to them. If for some reason they can't send a bill to an out-of-state owner, then how is it the out-of-state person's responsibility to pay the toll?

Kurt

 

[gnipgnop]

Panina: Where did you get the stickey one you use? How are you billed. Can you be a little more specific about how one would acquire and use this device? Thank you in advance.

 

[Jan M.]

Panina: Where did you get the stickey one you use? How are you billed. Can you be a little more specific about how one would acquire and use this device? Thank you in advance.

You can buy the Sun Pass stickers online at the Sun Pass website, Publix, CVS, Walgreens, the turnpike rest stops, etc. They work like the transponders in that after you purchase it you go online to the Sun Pass website and set yourself up with an account. You load the sticker with at least $10 and set the dollar increments you want it recharged to on your credit card linked to your Sun Pass account. When that $10 is about gone Sun Pass will charge your credit card for whatever amount you've selected. You can log into your Sun Pass account and change that amount to accommodate your travel plans. Then you apply the sticker to your windshield by the rear view mirror. Please note that unlike the transponder the sticker cannot be removed and placed on another vehicle. We we bought the sticker for my car at Publix, it was $5 and they gave you a $5 credit on your Sun Pass account.

 

[gnipgnop]

So I guess the Sun Pass sticker would not be advisable for a rental car. We go to Florida about 2 times a year and always use rental cars. What would be my best option then?

 

[Sea Six]

So I guess the Sun Pass sticker would not be advisable for a rental car. We go to Florida about 2 times a year and always use rental cars. What would be my best option then?

You would have to get the transponder, which is $25, but can be used in any vehicle. All you have to do is go to the Sunpass website and add the vehicle info and license plate to the list of cars you use the transponder in. You can add or delete cars to the list. I even put my friends car in my list so I can use my transponder to pay the tolls when he drives.

 

[Jan M.]

So I guess the Sun Pass sticker would not be advisable for a rental car. We go to Florida about 2 times a year and always use rental cars. What would be my best option then?

You would need a transponder. I would suggest buying one online at the Sun Pass website, $19.99, and have it sent to you so you can get it and your Sun Pass account set up before you leave home.

The one time our son forgot to tell the car rental company that he was using our transponder they billed him for the tolls after he got home. Most of those tolls showed up on our Sun Pass account also. The list of tolls they sent our son didn't jive with what was on our account which we knew to be accurate. They were tolls on their bill that we knew weren't his. We are Florida residents so are very familiar with the toll roads. Most people who visit Florida probably wouldn't catch it that the car rental company was charging them for tolls that weren't theirs. We eventually got it straightened out with the car rental company. I've heard OP say they were charged by their rental car companies for tolls that weren't theirs so this likely happens more often than people realize. Get your own transponder and remember to inform the rental car company that you are using your own.

 

[mj2vacation]

Maybe I'm confused, but if the only option is the license-plate toll at an exit or checkpoint, what exactly is someone from out-of-state supposed to do? I don't think they have any other option.

In Colorado, all of our toll roads are license-plate tolls now -- no toll booths or kiosks. All drivers are directed to drive through the checkpoints and a bill will be sent to them. If for some reason they can't send a bill to an out-of-state owner, then how is it the out-of-state person's responsibility to pay the toll?

Kurt

Toll by plate is fairly new.

It would be great if there were some standard that would allow one pass, but then the tin foil hat crew would panic!

 

[Talent312]

It would be great if there were some standard that would allow one pass, but then the tin foil hat crew would panic!

They already know where I drive (intersection cameras & toll-systems)
They know what I watch on TV (courtesy of the cable company)
They know what music & movies I like (Alexa, Pandora & Fandango).
They know what's in my backyard (Google Earth).

... Pass the tin-foil hats... Big Brother is indeed watching.

.

 

[mj2vacation]

Talent,

Kind of funny timing.

Had a guy walking around my house this morning.

Checked ID and he is with the property appraiser’s office. They noticed that I had a pool (since 2006) from google earth...

I told him we had all of the permits and inspections, but they apparently don’t all tie together.

 

[moonstone]

Talent,

Kind of funny timing.

Had a guy walking around my house this morning.

Checked ID and he is with the property appraiser’s office. They noticed that I had a pool (since 2006) from google earth...

I told him we had all of the permits and inspections, but they apparently don’t all tie together.

Our DD is a municipal planner in a semi-rural (many small towns but lots of 'wilderness') township near us. For the 2nd summer in a row they have hired a student who looks at a google earth type map on the computer then compares what he sees to the building permits on file. When he finds a structure on a property where there are no open or closed (past) building permits the bylaw officer pays the land owners a visit. It is generating a lot of money (big fines for building without a permit) for the township, covering most, if not all, of his pay. The bylaw officer has told a few people that their illegal structures must come down, not just due to no building permit, but for illegal/not to code construction making it unsafe for use.


~Diane

 

[Talent312]

...For the 2nd summer in a row they have hired a student who looks at a google earth type map on the computer then compares what he sees to the building permits on file...

This is why I do all my illegal remodeling inside my house.

.

 

[PigsDad]

This is why I do all my illegal remodeling inside my house.

They'll never find my super-secret doomsday bunker. NEVER!

Kurt

 

[Talent312]

They'll never find my super-secret doomsday bunker. NEVER!

The cable company probably has your access codes.

Last December, I'm on the roof stringing Christmas lights, when some kid shows up and, without knocking, starts walking around my house. Like God from the heavens, I yell down, "Can I help you?"

He looks up and says: "I'm from the cable company and we're checking our wires to your house."

They had run the cable down one side of the house, around the back, to the other side, just so they wouldn't have to cross under my driveway out front... meaning they felt entitled to circumnavigate the house.

.

 

[montygz]

As I said, it's doable. However, I'm an impatient driver and willing to pay so I don't have to wait at traffic lights. IMHO, Orlando should do what Jacksonville, FL, did in 1989: Assess a penny sales tax to eliminate local tolls.
.

Jacksonville is getting toll roads this year.

 

[Sea Six]

I also use my SunPass to pay for parking at the airports. Another opportunity to zip through the exit.

 

[Talent312]

Jacksonville is getting toll roads this year.

So far, Jax is getting one toll road and several express toll lanes added to existing interstates.
In theory, the tolls are just paying to build them, but it's an indefinite $$-cow for F-DOT.

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