Daft Toll road question

[Lemmonie]

So earlier I drove on the 528 toll road (four exits worth) getting from Vineland outlets to the Florida mall. I didn’t realise it was a toll road till I was on it and saw loads of signs tell g me it’s a toll road as signs saying “sun pass only”. I have no toll pass with the hire car and I didn’t pass a single tollbooth. Would I be right I’m assuming I will get fined? Or is there no charge for that section? Have googled this for ten minutes at least and I’m still one the wiser 😬

[DonnaD]

You do have Sunpass automatically with a hire car so no need to worry about fines.

I can't remember it being 4 exits to the Florida Mall. If you drove under an a sign that said "Sunpass Only" you probably missed cash booths all the way to the right that looked like an exit.

That section also has Sunpass only Express lanes now although strangely there is no extra charge to use them but they add to the confusion.

The charges for using Sunpass vary by rental company. There are lots of posts with details of each one. Most are reasonable and all are much less than a fine.

[prt2]

If you come off at exit 4 for Florida Mall you don't go through the toll booths.
The toll is after exit 4
Last time we were there they were putting up new signage but to my recollection no toll fees if you leave at exit 4 which is signposted for Florida Mall

[mick]

All you need to know about how Sunpass is charged.

sunpass/en/tolls/rentalVehicles.shtml

Mick

[ManCity]

Originally Posted by DonnaD

You do have Sunpass automatically with a hire car so no need to worry about fines.

See more...

That is incorrect. 'Sunpass' is a 'Pre-paid toll program' - locals have a Sunpass account which they must keep in credit and a transponder in the car which triggers the deduction of the toll from their account. Rental cars do NOT have the transponder, tolls are NOT pre-paid (unless the driver has taken their own personal transponder with them), but operate on the 'toll-by-plate' method. A photo is taken of the number plate, which is then sent to the rental company which charges the renter's card. Each rental company has its own scheme - for example, Alamo uses the 'HTA Tollpass' scheme. The toll-by-plate toll rates are higher than the corresponding Sunpass ones, plus you get hit with admin charges. It is NOT a 'traffic violation', so NOT a fine - you just pay later.

This is explained under 'Missed toll in a rental vehicle' on the official Sunpass web site, which also describes the schemes used instead of Sunpass by some of the rental companies, here: sunpass/en/tolls/rentalVehicles.shtml

If renting a car from MCO and returning it there, visitors should in future get the new free Visitor Toll Pass from CFX, which means you will have a transponder and an account and pay tolls direct to the toll road operator at the lower electronic toll rates, so you don't have to worry about anything and can drive in any lane and get the best rates.

The road signs saying 'Sunpass only' are very misleading and over-simplified. They really mean 'Sunpass, E-pass, Leeway, Visitor Toll Pass or other rental vehicles only', which is possibly a bit much for wording on a sign.

[DonnaD]

Originally Posted by prt2

If you come off at exit 4 for Florida Mall you don't go through the toll booths.
The toll is after exit 4
Last time we were there they were putting up new signage but to my recollection no toll fees if you leave at exit 4 which is signposted for Florida Mall

See more...

Makes sense, OP didn't go 4 exits after all but got confused by the numbering here. It is based on miles from the start of the road not number of exits!

[mick]

Originally Posted by DonnaD

Makes sense, OP didn't go 4 exits after all but got confused by the numbering here. It is based on miles from the start of the road not number of exits!

See more...

Donna

I remember the days when the I-4 was numbered sequentially like motorways here. Now it's much better and if you get on at j58 Champions Gate and want to go to the M@M you know you've got 20 miles of Interstate to drive to j78.

Never use the 528 though as our auto-pilot kicks in leaving garage B on to 417 south.

Mick