As more and more highways, bridges and tunnels have gone to cashless tolling, it has gotten harder and harder for rental car users to escape the inflated tolls and “convenience fees” charged by companies, but Orlando, Florida has reached out to get renters a break.
In Orlando, one of the biggest car rental markets and an area laced with toll facilities, Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer got together with the main toll authority, the Central Florida Expressway Authority to create a visitor toll pass that can be ordered in advance or picked up at the airport, and dropped off there on the way back.
Using the pass, which is a transponder to go in the car window, allows visitors to pay the discounted local user toll rate, and bypass the fees added on by rental car companies. The transponder uses an app, available for iOS and Android, to identify the car using the pass and charge the correct rate.
With cashless tolling, the toll system reads either a transponder or uses a photo of the license plate to find the user. The rate with license-plate follow-up is always higher than the fixed rate, but even when the rental company is charged a discounted rate they charge the top toll rate, add big fees for license-plate tolls, and charge for use of their transponders, sometimes even on days you don’t use it.
The Visitor Toll Program is expected to save most users 80% off what they would pay without it, meaning perhaps more money to spend on Orlando attractions. There’s a $10 fee if the responder isn’t dropped off at the airport, but there’s also a 10-day grace period to mail it back.
