The largest toll consortium, E-ZPass, oversees basically every toll from Illinois to Florida and up to Maine.
If you use the rental company’s pass, you will pay the higher rate plus the daily fee. Better yet, you’ll often get to take advantage of discounted tolls for paying electronically. If you bring your own toll transponder, tolls are billed to your account at each electronic toll plaza. In addition, a few states run their own toll programs independent of any reciprocal affiliation with other states. There are three major groups of toll agencies around the country. And who wants to wait in a long line of traffic to pay a toll, anyway? Where Do You Need E-ZPass? It’s not easy to pay as you go, since more and more toll roads are converting to all-electronic tolling. This option is even worse, as you’ll pay a huge penalty on top of the cost of the tolls. This is expensive, since you will pay a daily use fee for the pass plus the cost of the tolls.ĭrive through the toll plaza without stopping. Pay a daily fee to use the rental car company’s toll pass. If you don’t bring your own transponder, you have three options and none of them are good.Īsk AutoSlash for a Quote on a Cheap Car Rental You will always end up paying a price if you drive on toll roads in a rental car. They are being replaced by cashless toll overpasses that record your car as you drive underneath. In states like New York, for example, toll plazas are disappearing. That’s especially good advice in a time when you may end up unknowingly driving on a toll roll. If you have your own E-ZPass transponder, just bring it along. Does your route include a lot of toll roads? There’s no reason to pay through the nose for the rental company’s expensive toll pass. 6.įor more information on other state's E-ZPass systems.You never want pay more than you have to for a rental car. MassDOT Board of Directors will make a final vote on rates on Oct.
To be eligible for a Massachusetts discount, drivers must get an Massachusetts-issued E-ZPass transponder, according to the MassDOT website. A transponder issued by New Hampshire offers a 30 percent discount on tolls in that state, Boynton said. He said out-of-state residents or frequent travelers through the state apply for an E-ZPass from New Hampshire. "There's no reason or ability to administer a transponder program."īut there's no residency requirement to get a transponder, said Bill Boynton, spokesperson for the state transportation agency in New Hampshire. "We wouldn't realize the revenue of tolling from other states," he said. Other states pay for the administrative overhead, which includes paying for each transponder. There's no talk of offering E-ZPass transponders any time soon, Tetrault said. Vermont, with its 321-miles of toll-free interstate highways, is not. Massachusetts, New Hampshire and New York join 13 other states in the E-ZPass consortium. Drivers that don't use an E-ZPass transponder will see the cost nearly double: from $7.10 to $13.40 plus a 60-cent billing fee.
Under the current proposal, E-ZPass drivers who want to drive the entire length of the 135-mile toll road will see a 45-cent discount, from the current $6.60 to $6.15. Officials also talked about the toll rates. Drivers won't have to stop at a toll plaza when they exit the highway, or slow down at the gantries. Massachusetts officials on Monday touted the system as a way to reduce traffic congestion and air pollution, and avoid crashes at toll plazas.
The license plate would be matched with the vehicle registration holder and would be mailed a bill, a system dubbed "pay-by-plate." Drivers without a transponder who are from Vermont or other states fall into the latter category. If no transponder is found, a camera captures an image of the vehicle's license plate. When a vehicle with an E-ZPass transponder passes underneath, the system will charge the customer's account. Instead, a dozen toll gantries with electronic sensors would hang above the highway. The "all electronic toll" system will replace tool booth infrastructure and toll collectors. Vermont drivers who frequently travel the Mass Pike and want an E-ZPass transponder, he said, would have to sign up through that state.
He noted that Vermont, which has no toll interstate highways, is not part of the multi-state E-ZPass consortium, Vermont has no plans to make the E-ZPass transponders available to residents, according to Richard Tetrault, deputy secretary for the state Agency of Transportation. Those without a transponder in their vehicle face paying a higher rate and a 60-cent billing fee – their license plate would be scanned automatically and they would receive a bill in the mail. The new system will replace the toll plazas and toll collectors along the 135-mile stretch of I-90 with an automated system using electronic gantries over the highway and E-ZPass transponders in vehicles.