This Toll Pass Makes Road Trips Easier — and Saves You Rental Car Fees

SunPass road sign along the highway in Orlando, Florida.
GagliardiPhotography / Shutterstock.com

Toll roads can be a pain in the neck. Nobody likes having to pay to travel down the highway. But a transponder can at least make the process easier.

With this tool, you can zip down the road while an antenna at each toll plaza reads your transponder and automatically debits your account for the toll.

Several companies offer transponders that work in an intrastate fashion, making it easier to travel toll roads in multiple states.

Another benefit of intrastate toll passes

Heavy traffic on freeway from Maryland into D.C.
Andrea Izzott / Shutterstock.com

In addition to making intrastate driving smoother, an intrastate toll pass can spare you rental car fees.

For example, the largest rental car company in the United States, Enterprise, tacks an “administrative fee” onto your bill if you incur a toll while driving one of their vehicles — unless you bring your own transponder.

1. E-ZPass

E-ZPass sign in Reston, Virginia
Kristi Blokhin / Shutterstock.com

With E-ZPass, you establish a prepaid account with a participating agency. Then, you receive an electronic transponder that attaches to the inside of your windshield.

Every time you go through a toll facility that accepts E-ZPass, your account is automatically debited for the proper amount of the toll.

The E-Z Pass Group has toll facilities in 17 states. As the company states:

“Today, E-ZPass customers can travel from Maine to North Carolina, and west to Illinois, without stopping to pay a toll. Additionally, E-ZPass is now accepted on the Central Florida Expressway (CFX) Authority’s 118-mile toll road network in Metro Orlando.”

To sign up for E-ZPass, go to the E-ZPass website.

2. Uni

Amy Johansson / Shutterstock.com

Uni also offers a transponder that you can use to automatically pay when driving toll roads. It works everywhere that E-ZPass is accepted.

You attach the Uni transponder to the inside of your windshield with suction cups. This means you can transfer the transponder from vehicle to vehicle.

Uni can be used on toll roads in 19 states, which are listed on the company website. On the same page, you will find links to purchase your Uni transponder. A Uni transponder costs $14.95, plus tax.

3. SunPass Pro

Sunpass lane at the Miami Highway in Miami
travelview / Shutterstock.com

SunPass Pro offers another portable transponder. It works in Florida and 21 other states. Like Uni, you can use it everywhere that E-ZPass is accepted.

You can purchase a SunPass Pro either online, in-person or at various Florida retail locations. A SunPass transponder costs $14.95, plus tax.

 

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