ginacivey
Pearl Clutcher
refupea #2 in southeast missouri
Posts: 4,685
Jun 25, 2014 19:18:36 GMT
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Post by ginacivey on Jul 25, 2016 21:04:07 GMT
holy moly
i had no idea there are cashless toll roads
they avoid paying toll booth workers
do you not only pay to drive on the roads you have to make an actual attempt to pay afterwards
i had no actual clue
gina
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raindancer
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,095
Jun 26, 2014 20:10:29 GMT
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Post by raindancer on Jul 25, 2016 21:04:57 GMT
My experience with tolls and rental cars is that you stop and pay the tolls like everyone else. If you don't then you get a fine. The rental company got your bill for non-payment so that cost them a lot of extra money in wages, etc. In the future, you have to stop and pay those tolls as you go. I haven't been on a toll road that had a place to stop and pay in ages. They mail the bill, it's all done with overhead cameras and scanners for the pass if you have one.
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Post by freecharlie on Jul 25, 2016 21:11:28 GMT
holy moly i had no idea there are cashless toll roads they avoid paying toll booth workers do you not only pay to drive on the roads you have to make an actual attempt to pay afterwards i had no actual clue gina I have a transponder in my car and I prepay, but if you don't have one then they take a picture of your license plate and then send a bill to the address the car is registered at. You can also look it up and pay asap on their website.
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Post by Meri-Lyn on Jul 25, 2016 21:19:05 GMT
We rented a car last month while we were in California. When we rented the car, the rental agent said nothing about toll roads. We saw a few signs for toll roads and drove on them knowing we would have to pay the toll. We have toll roads at home and are familiar with how they work. We got our bill for the tolls last week - there were 2 charges totaling $9. No big deal....I sent off the payment and thought we were done. On Saturday a letter arrived from Budget rent-a-car telling us that THEY charge a $25 fee per toll and would be charging our credit card (the card we used to rent the car) $50!!! This fee does not go towards the actual tolls. Thank goodness we only drove on two toll roads - we were in California for a week! Has anyone else encountered something like this? Seems like a scam to me. With so many cities using toll roads now, it would almost be impossible for an out of town visitor to avoid all toll roads, especially when relying on GPS or Siri to give directions and they tell the drive to take the toll road. It took someone(s) time and energy to track you down if you just drove through toll stations without paying your tolls. Some one at the rental agency had to figure out who had the car with that plate at the time the toll stations were driven through and then forward your info to the toll agency. When we rent or even drive our own car in Florida, we pay cash at the toll stations since our electronic toll do-Hicky doesn't work down there. I would never just drive through and not pay. Down here, they are doing away with toll booths. At least on the expressways, I drive, they are SunPass or Pay-by-Plate only. There is no option to stop and pay cash. Here's a story about it. Miami Herald
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ginacivey
Pearl Clutcher
refupea #2 in southeast missouri
Posts: 4,685
Jun 25, 2014 19:18:36 GMT
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Post by ginacivey on Jul 25, 2016 21:22:14 GMT
so what about visitors that have no idea
are there large billboards telling tourists what to do?
gina
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Post by ntsf on Jul 25, 2016 21:25:37 GMT
golden gate bridge has a no cash toll booth. there are big signs saying do not stop... and they send you an automatic bill. horrible system with many mess ups. or you can prepay the toll with your cell phone.. this works for any of the bridges in the bay area.
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Post by Meri-Lyn on Jul 25, 2016 21:25:57 GMT
Here's a story out of Massachusetts. Time
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Belle
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,309
Jun 28, 2014 4:39:12 GMT
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Post by Belle on Jul 25, 2016 21:26:38 GMT
Are you talking roads everyone pays a toll to travel or express lanes on the freeway? I know the Bay Area has express lanes now that you can pay a toll to drive in, but I wouldn't call that a toll road as you have a choice. In So. Cal, there are toll roads: www.ie511.org/trip-planners/toll-roadsYes - we were on the orange colored section around Laguna Niguel in Orange county. We did not go over any bridges nor were we on the freeway. At home and in this part of California, the tolls are cashless - no booths to pay at. I stand corrected...not a scam but a total rip off!!! We rented the car through Costco so it might be worth trying to get this sorted out through them although they are obviously not the ones charging us an extra $50.
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Post by kellybelly77 on Jul 25, 2016 21:30:32 GMT
so what about visitors that have no idea are there large billboards telling tourists what to do? gina We had no idea when we traveled recently. The airport rental place didn't tell us and there were no billboards that I saw. There were no booths, just a large overhead bridge looking thing that scanned our car as we drove by. We got billed via our credit card at the rental place.
In Kansas there are actual toll booths still and you have no choice but to stop. We do have a K tag that attaches to my window and it scans as I pass by the booth. You can get in the "fast" lane where no one stops to actually pay but you still have to slow down to 20mph so they thing can scan your tag. I almost wish they would do what Florida did and have the scanner overhead across the highway so you don't have to slow down and make the cash paying folks actually exit the highway to pay. The K tag lane sometimes is 40 cars deep and although the line is moving it still takes awhile to make it through.
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Belle
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,309
Jun 28, 2014 4:39:12 GMT
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Post by Belle on Jul 25, 2016 21:31:02 GMT
so what about visitors that have no idea are there large billboards telling tourists what to do? gina That is my issue with the fee...as a visitor, how do I know how the system works? I would assume the majority of the people renting a car at the airport are likely visitors.... The Budget rep did not discuss toll roads with us at all and we encountered our 1st toll road about 15 minutes after leaving the airport. Here at home, I have a transponder. If I didn't have the transponder I would still be able to use the toll roads, but I would have to pay a few extra dollars over what those with a transponder pay (to cover mailing the bill etc).
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raindancer
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,095
Jun 26, 2014 20:10:29 GMT
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Post by raindancer on Jul 25, 2016 21:31:39 GMT
so what about visitors that have no idea are there large billboards telling tourists what to do? gina There are billboards at every exit and before telling you it is a toll pay by transponder (and those accepted, fast pass, ezpass, peach pass, etc., etc.) or it's pay by mail. On the roadways there are signs everywhere telling you along the way "Last exit before toll" etc. so you can get off or pay the toll. The cost is posted as well for each stretch. When I came from Arizona to Illinois I was confused, because there are not many toll roads in the west other than in CA. But it's really not a difficult thing to figure out. Also if you are driving your own out of state vehicle, you may not ever see the bill. I drove on the toll here for 6 months, but never heard anything from anyone. When I registered my new plates I bought the transponder. I asked about it and they didn't have me on file under my old plates. So.
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Post by Meri-Lyn on Jul 25, 2016 21:34:42 GMT
so what about visitors that have no idea are there large billboards telling tourists what to do? gina I wouldn't say it's large like a billboard, but there is a sign with a website address on it. If you are in your personal vehicle, it's only a couple bucks. It's the admin fee that the rental car companies charge that are the issue, as they can get into lots of money. And the issue, as shown in the articles above, is that they are not all the way up front with what those charges are.
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Post by JustCallMeMommy on Jul 25, 2016 21:36:40 GMT
I had this happen with Enterprise. It was an unmanned toll, and you had to go to a website to pay it after you went through it. I paid it that night, and Enterprise still got a bill. They said they would credit me back for their fee if I could show where I had paid the toll already.
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Post by bc2ca on Jul 25, 2016 21:48:40 GMT
so what about visitors that have no idea are there large billboards telling tourists what to do? gina On the toll roads in Orange County there is excellent signage (electronic billboards) telling you where to go online and that you have 5 days to pay. I rarely use a toll road, so pay as I go. DH uses them regularly and has a FasTrak transponder. SaveSave
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Belle
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,309
Jun 28, 2014 4:39:12 GMT
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Post by Belle on Jul 25, 2016 21:58:42 GMT
so what about visitors that have no idea are there large billboards telling tourists what to do? gina On the toll roads in Orange County there is excellent signage (electronic billboards) telling you where to go online and that you have 5 days to pay. I rarely use a toll road, so pay as I go. DH uses them regularly and has a FasTrak transponder. SaveSaveHonestly, I didn't see any signs saying I had 5 days to pay. The bill we received from "the Toll Roads" said we had 30 days to pay the total $9 owed and if we didn't pay within 30 days we would owe something like $250. ETA: I just looked at website posted above about the Toll Roads in Orange county. It looks like because this was our 1st time, we were not charged a penalty for not paying within 5 days of driving on the road. Interesting, as I really didn't see any signage saying we had 5 days to pay. Of course, none of this is related to the Budget charges.
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Post by Lexica on Jul 25, 2016 22:14:54 GMT
Something doesn't add up here. I went to the toll road page and they had a link regarding rental cars. You apparently have two options - one is to register your rental car directly with the toll road people and they will charge your credit card for the tolls you use during the period of time you will have that rental car. The second option is to pay through the rental car place itself. There was a link to the Budget agreement. In reading both web pages, It looks like Budget will charge you a fee of $3.95 -PER DAY- if you use the toll road, even once, during your rental period, PLUS the cost of the tolls. So every day of your rental will be that $3.95 plus toll fees, even if you don't use a toll road until your last rental day. BUT the website says the maximum fee from Budget is $19.75 per month. So the very most you should have had to pay is that $19.95 plus the $9 in tolls, not $25 per toll plus the $9 in toll fees. That $19.95 is the month maximum too. If you only had a rental car for 3 days, it would be the base fee of $3.95 times the 3 days, plus the toll fee. I would be calling Budget for an explanation. What they are charging you is not what the advertised price is on the website link. I pasted the pertinent paragraphs below. Toll Roads: Before driving a rental car on The Toll Roads, it is recommended that you ask the rental car company how they process tolls and fees. Many rental car companies offer ways to pay tolls and have them charged conveniently through your rental agreement. If the rental car company or branch location doesn’t allow you to pay tolls through your rental agreement, you can pay tolls online using our One-Time-Toll payment option. Additionally, some Avis and Budget car rental locations in California have certain vehicles equipped with FasTrak transponders that allow drivers to use any tolled bridge, lane and road in California for a nominal fee. The rental car companies listed below offer the option of paying tolls through your rental agreement. www.thetollroads.com/help/rentalsBudget: www.budget.com/budgetWeb/html/en/smartservices/ezpass.htmlZip through toll booths for only $3.95 for each rental day! In Summary: Breeze from highway to highway without having to keep toll change at hand. E-Toll is installed in many cars in California, the Chicago area, Colorado, Florida, the Northeast U.S. (from Maine to North Carolina), Oklahoma, Kansas, Texas, Washington, and Puerto Rico. If you use e-Toll, you will be charged a $3.95 convenience fee for each day of the rental, including any days on which e-Toll is not used, up to a maximum of $19.75 per rental month, plus incurred tolls at the cash rate. There is no charge for Budget e-Toll unless you use it.
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Belle
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,309
Jun 28, 2014 4:39:12 GMT
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Post by Belle on Jul 25, 2016 22:19:54 GMT
Something doesn't add up here. I went to the toll road page and they had a link regarding rental cars. You apparently have two options - one is to register your rental car directly with the toll road people and they will charge your credit card for the tolls you use during the period of time you will have that rental car. The second option is to pay through the rental car place itself. There was a link to the Budget agreement. In reading both web pages, It looks like Budget will charge you a fee of $3.95 -PER DAY- if you use the toll road, even once, during your rental period, PLUS the cost of the tolls. So every day of your rental will be that $3.95 plus toll fees, even if you don't use a toll road until your last rental day. BUT the website says the maximum fee from Budget is $19.75 per month. So the very most you should have had to pay is that $19.95 plus the $9 in tolls, not $25 per toll plus the $9 in toll fees. That $19.95 is the month maximum too. If you only had a rental car for 3 days, it would be the base fee of $3.95 times the 3 days, plus the toll fee. I would be calling Budget for an explanation. What they are charging you is not what the advertised price is on the website link. I pasted the pertinent paragraphs below. Toll Roads: Before driving a rental car on The Toll Roads, it is recommended that you ask the rental car company how they process tolls and fees. Many rental car companies offer ways to pay tolls and have them charged conveniently through your rental agreement. If the rental car company or branch location doesn’t allow you to pay tolls through your rental agreement, you can pay tolls online using our One-Time-Toll payment option. Additionally, some Avis and Budget car rental locations in California have certain vehicles equipped with FasTrak transponders that allow drivers to use any tolled bridge, lane and road in California for a nominal fee. The rental car companies listed below offer the option of paying tolls through your rental agreement. www.thetollroads.com/help/rentalsBudget: www.budget.com/budgetWeb/html/en/smartservices/ezpass.htmlZip through toll booths for only $3.95 for each rental day! In Summary: Breeze from highway to highway without having to keep toll change at hand. E-Toll is installed in many cars in California, the Chicago area, Colorado, Florida, the Northeast U.S. (from Maine to North Carolina), Oklahoma, Kansas, Texas, Washington, and Puerto Rico. If you use e-Toll, you will be charged a $3.95 convenience fee for each day of the rental, including any days on which e-Toll is not used, up to a maximum of $19.75 per rental month, plus incurred tolls at the cash rate. There is no charge for Budget e-Toll unless you use it. Wow! Thank you for looking into this! Yes, we will give Budget a call and ask about this! I will let you know what they say! Thanks again!!
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Post by elaine on Jul 25, 2016 22:55:55 GMT
It took someone(s) time and energy to track you down if you just drove through toll stations without paying your tolls. Some one at the rental agency had to figure out who had the car with that plate at the time the toll stations were driven through and then forward your info to the toll agency. When we rent or even drive our own car in Florida, we pay cash at the toll stations since our electronic toll do-Hicky doesn't work down there. I would never just drive through and not pay. Down here, they are doing away with toll booths. At least on the expressways, I drive, they are SunPass or Pay-by-Plate only. There is no option to stop and pay cash. Here's a story about it. Miami HeraldThat's great to hear! No more having to make sure we have at least a roll of quarters in the car when we drive down to Florida!
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Post by Meri-Lyn on Jul 25, 2016 23:03:13 GMT
I just checked. Couldn't get a pic, of course, as I was going about 50. (Highly unusual for this time of day. ) The signs (There are two) before the expressway aren't billboard size, but pretty visible. They say Sunpass or Pay by Plate.
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scorpeao
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,521
Location: NorCal USA
Jun 25, 2014 21:04:54 GMT
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Post by scorpeao on Jul 25, 2016 23:07:30 GMT
Yes - we were on the orange colored section around Laguna Niguel in Orange county. We did not go over any bridges nor were we on the freeway. At home and in this part of California, the tolls are cashless - no booths to pay at. I stand corrected...not a scam but a total rip off!!! We rented the car through Costco so it might be worth trying to get this sorted out through them although they are obviously not the ones charging us an extra $50. Good to know! I have never, in my 43 years of living and traveling in Ca, never encountered a toll road.
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Post by myshelly on Jul 25, 2016 23:08:04 GMT
so what about visitors that have no idea are there large billboards telling tourists what to do? gina Where you live are there billboards telling visitors they have to have actual cash for the toll road before they get on? It would never occur to me that there are still places where you have to stop and pay the toll as you go. The point of toll roads here is that they are faster (higher speed limits) and less traffic. Slowing down to pay a toll seems to work against both of those advertised purposes. The posted speed limit on toll roads here is 75, so everyone is going 85. Seems like it would be dangerous to all of a sudden slow down to go through a toll booth.
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Post by malibou on Jul 25, 2016 23:27:03 GMT
I've lived in So Cal for 22 years. The only toll road I know is the one OP was on,and though I've been down that way plenty of times, I've never been on it.
What other toll roads do we have in So Cal?
J
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Post by padresfan619 on Jul 25, 2016 23:28:07 GMT
I've lived in So Cal for 22 years. The only toll road I know is the one OP was on,and though I've been down that way plenty of times, I've never been on it. What other toll roads do we have in So Cal? J There's a toll road way down south in Chula Vista and it still takes cash. You don't stop and pay as you go, you just pay as you take your exit. I drive down there so infrequently I don't use the FastPass.
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Peamac
Pearl Clutcher
Refupea # 418
Posts: 4,218
Jun 26, 2014 0:09:18 GMT
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Post by Peamac on Jul 25, 2016 23:29:41 GMT
The PA turnpike/NE extension still has tolls to stop and pay (they also have drive through tolls, if you have the thing on your car).
In CO, you get your bill in the mail several weeks after driving on the toll road, unless you have a car thingy.
The idea (when toll roads first came out) was that you are paying for better upkeep on those roads and they are a more direct route with fewer exits than the highway. The speed limit is usually the same as a non-toll highway. There are some places you can pay extra to go in the express lane with less traffic (but usually still the same speed limit).
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Post by anonrefugee on Jul 26, 2016 1:27:45 GMT
I think I know which toll roads the OP drove on. Ever since they went boothless, I avoid them. Anyways, I was curious and did a little google search. Apparently rental car agencies in many states, including California, now put transponders on their cars. You have to opt out of the e-toll system or you get charged. There are many complaints about it because the agencies are not really active on pointing this out to you when you rent a car! I have a feeling the OP will be stuck paying the extra fee. May I ask why you avoid them? I'm just curious because I have never driven on anything other than boothless toll roads. Oh my now I feel old I remember toll roads with cards that looked like IBM punch cards when I was a kid. We liked to take turn handing them to attendant. My parents were good for about one of those per trip. We have cashless, toll roads without booths. Our cars have passes and account (credit card auto pay) is charged. If you're on a different tag plan, or system misses your tolltag they mail you a photo with charges.
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Post by txdancermom on Jul 26, 2016 1:33:16 GMT
when I rented a car recently here they told me that if I wanted to use their toll tag it was $5/day plus the cost of the tolls; if I called the toll tag people and added the car to my own account for the days I had the car, I would only have to pay the usual charges. This was Enterprise while my car was in the shop, but I am sure that other rental car companies have other policies.
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Post by katlady on Jul 26, 2016 2:45:28 GMT
I've lived in So Cal for 22 years. The only toll road I know is the one OP was on,and though I've been down that way plenty of times, I've never been on it. What other toll roads do we have in So Cal? J There are a couple more in south Orange County, but north of I-5. It goes through areas along the foothill (like Rancho Santa Margarita and Santiago Canyon) and it connects with the 91.
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katybee
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,378
Jun 25, 2014 23:25:39 GMT
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Post by katybee on Jul 26, 2016 2:47:08 GMT
My experience with tolls and rental cars is that you stop and pay the tolls like everyone else. If you don't then you get a fine. The rental company got your bill for non-payment so that cost them a lot of extra money in wages, etc. In the future, you have to stop and pay those tolls as you go. That would be a problem in central Texas, because you cannot pay as you go. You must have a toll tag or pay when you get the bill in the mail.
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Mary Kay Lady
Pearl Clutcher
PeaNut 367,913 Refupea number 1,638
Posts: 3,073
Jun 27, 2014 4:11:36 GMT
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Post by Mary Kay Lady on Jul 26, 2016 3:17:50 GMT
My experience with tolls and rental cars is that you stop and pay the tolls like everyone else. If you don't then you get a fine. The rental company got your bill for non-payment so that cost them a lot of extra money in wages, etc. In the future, you have to stop and pay those tolls as you go. Many toll roads are "cashless" so you can't pay as you go. In May I flew into Miami and rented a car. The car was rented through Enterprise and I was clearly told that there would be tolls and that I would receive additional billing for the tolls. They even had me sign an additional form stating that I understood this policy. Since they didn't say anything to to regarding it do you recall if you signed something about the tolls?
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Belle
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,309
Jun 28, 2014 4:39:12 GMT
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Post by Belle on Jul 26, 2016 3:51:25 GMT
Many toll roads are "cashless" so you can't pay as you go. In May I flew into Miami and rented a car. The car was rented through Enterprise and I was clearly told that there would be tolls and that I would receive additional billing for the tolls. They even had me sign an additional form stating that I understood this policy. Since they didn't say anything to to regarding it do you recall if you signed something about the tolls? The only thing that was signed was the rental agreement which, no doubt, says we have to pay $25 per day on top of the toll fees. DH has now left 2 messages for Budget - once on Saturday when we got the letter and once today and we have not received a call back yet.
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