Avoid Paying Outrageous Car Rental Toll Surcharges (2021)

Car Rental Strategies, Car Rentals 101: Save Money and Time With Your Rental

Over the last few years, a significant portion of car rental reservations are now saddled with significant extra fees due to electronic tolling.

Now that the technology has improved, many parts of the country have moved to electronic tolling systems. Newer highway and bridge projects have often instituted electronic-only tolling. Everyone who lives in the area is expected to have a toll pass and there are no traditional pay-with-cash lanes for those of us in rental cars.

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Rental car electronic tolling devices are a rip off
How to avoid getting ripped off
Get an E-Z Pass
Dealing with tolls in other states

Car rental companies have turned toll fees into a massive profit center. They outfit their cars with electronic toll passes. However, rather than charging you just for the tolls you use, they charge you a substantial additional fee. To add insult to injury, you’ll sometimes pay for every day of the rental, even if you just needed to pay one toll near the rental location.

Then to rip you off further, they charge you the full toll amount, rather than the discounted rate that you would normally get when using an electronic tolling device.

At a typical price of $4-6 per day, this can be a significant increase to the price you were quoted when you booked the car, and you aren’t even getting a discount on the tolls. The only good news is that the extra transponder fees are mercifully capped at around $20-35 for the rental period.

	$4.95 per rental day, $24.75 maximum fee.
	$3.95 per usage day, $19.75 maximum fee.
	$5.95 per usage day. $29.75 maximum fee.
	$5.95 per usage day. $29.75 maximum fee.
	Uses an all-inclusive tolling system, which includes both the fees and your actual tolls, into a single daily rate that varies by region.
	$3.95 per usage day, $19.75 maximum fee.
	$5.95 per usage day, no maximum
	$3.95 per usage day, $19.75 maximum fee.
	$6.95 per usage day, $34.75 maximum fee.
	Uses an all-inclusive tolling system, which includes both the fees and your actual tolls, into a single daily rate that varies by region.
	$4.95 for the entire reservation.
	Fees depend on location but tend to be high.

How to avoid getting ripped off

It takes some effort to avoid these charges.

Avoid any electronic tolls. On some trips, you can avoid incurring any electronic tolls by simply avoiding any electronic-only roadways, continuing to use the cash lanes at toll plazas, and staying out of any toll-based express lanes. Unfortunately, on other trips, it is inconvenient or even impossible to avoid toll-only roads; and you’ll need to fallback to one of the other options below.
Pay each toll online, afterwards. In some states, you can go online after you’ve used a toll road or toll bridge and pay your tolls. In other states, this just isn’t possible. You’ll need to check the state-by-state information below or on the web.
Travel with your existing transponder. If you already have an account with the same tolling program as your destination, you can travel with your existing transponder. For example, if you live in Pennsylvania and you are travelling to Illinois, you can bring your E-Z Pass with you. When you pick up your car, you’ll need to register the rental car to your E-Z Pass account, by entering the license plate number online.

Buy a transponder. If you don't not normally use a transponder, you can usually order one online before you go or purchase one at a retail location after you get there. You’ll need to pay a one-time fee for the transponder and set it up with a minimum balance. This will cost around $20-40. For a single trip, this might not be worthwhile. However, if you are going to periodically travel to a state or region, it will pay off over time.

It is particularly easy to recommend getting an E-Z Pass if you don’t already have one. They can be used in many different states, across many different trips. Like with your own regular transponder, once you pick up the rental car, you’ll need to go online to add your rental car to your account.

An E-Z Pass covers the majority of states

E-Z Pass is, by far, the largest system in the country—allowing you to use a single pass for all the electronic toll roads in the Northeastern and Midwestern states and Florida (Minnesota and Georgia should integrate in late 2021). Each state operates their own E-Z Pass program, making the rules for using roads and paying tolls different for every state. However, a single E-Z Pass transponder and account will work seamlessly across the entire region.

You can buy an E-Z Pass from any of the participating states. Rates and rules are different on a state-by-state basis. Massachusetts’s program is a good option for people who live outside the E-Z Pass region. There is no charge for the transponder, you can get started with only a $20 balance, and there are no ongoing fees. It takes only a few minutes to apply online, and they’ll mail the pass to your house (at no extra fee), so you’ll be ready for your next trip.

Virginia and North Carolina provide special tolling for HOV vehicles in express lanes. To take advantage, you need a Flex transponder, which has a switch to communicate to the system whether your vehicle currently meets the HOV requirement. Your best option are the free transponders from Virginia's program.

Dealing with tolls in other states

Alabama (Freedom Pass)	There is no need to bother with Freedom Pass electronic tolls, you can always use the cash lanes.
California (FasTrak)	You can sometimes avoid electronic tolling by not driving in tolled express lanes in a non-HOV vehicle, using cash lanes when available, and paying cashless tolls online. If you travel in California periodically, it makes sense to get a FasTrak device to use on your trips. You can order one online, but need to load it with a $25 initial balance. Otherwise, you can register your rental car to pay the bills yourself. For the San Francisco area roads use this site. For the Orange County / San Diego Toll Roads visit this site.
Colorado (EXpress Toll)	Anyone can sign-up for an EXpress Toll account and then add their rental car (at the beginning of the rental), so you can avoid the extra fees. The only problem is that you need to fund your account with a minimum of $35. If you head to Colorado with reasonable frequency, this can be worthwhile, but it probably doesn’t make sense for a one-time rental.
Georgia (Peach Pass)	The only electronic toll roads in the Peach Pass system are express lanes. You can easily avoid them. Georgia is in the process of integrating with E-ZPass.
Louisiana (GeauxPass)	There is no need to bother with Geaux Pass electronic tolls, you can just use the cash lanes.
Minnesota (MnPass)	The easiest thing to do is just to avoid the tolled express lanes. Minnesota is in the process of integrating with E-ZPass.
Texas, Kansas, Oklahoma	All of the toll systems in this part of the country now have interoperable passes. Unfortunately, they mostly require permanently mounted tags. Some programs allow you to buy a "portable" transponder for $25, but they aren't designed to be used with rental vehicles and won't work on the roads in the Dallas area. There is also no convenient way to pay tolls online. Either try to avoid the many tolled road or pay the rental car fees.
Washington (Good to Go!)	You can go online or call (866-936-8246) within 72 hours to pay your tolls for using the bridges or the I-405 express lanes. You’ll need to avoid the tolled express lanes on SR 167.