[boy3365]

Originally Posted by buenos

How many toll road transponders do I have to sign up for?


I recently moved to Florida, Brevard county.

But I would be going to Orlando, StPete, Sarasota, Miami and other places frequently.
Is Sunpass or E-pass going to cover my trips, do I need to have both, or even a few more local authority related ones?
How does this Florida Toll Road system work anyways?

You only need one. You will be fine in all of those cities either way. I do know that E-Pass offers frequent use discounts, but that is only on Central Florida Expressway Authority Roads. So, that's a sliver of SR 528, SR 417 in Orange County, SR 429, and SR 408, all of which are in Orlando. I only see that being valuable for someone who may live in Avalon Park in east Orange County but commutes to downtown Orlando, or for a person where driving is a significant portion of one's job. Sunpass is like "Florida's transponder."

I believe both passes are accepted for parking at airports that let you pay with toll transponders.

Originally Posted by beachmouse

There was actually a federal law that said toll road transponder interoperability was supposed to happen by 2016, but technical issues and an impasse on who was responsible for paying the very high cost of implementing the new standard-possibly hundreds of millions of dollars- among dozens of different toll bridge and turnpike authorities keeps pushing that standard further and further back.

I was going to bring that up. You beat me. :-) Yes I really wish this could come to fruition. E-Pass has the advantage here as it is compatible with 18 other states.
https://www.cfxway.com/e-pass/about-e-pass/

Sunpass swapped out users' transponders a few years ago in preparation for interoperability, but it multi-state access is limited to roads in Georgia and North Carolina.

https://www.sunpass.com/en/about/whe...eSunPass.shtml

Originally Posted by buenos

So this billing is confusing.
Which one allows me to not have to manually check bill amounts and top up? I don't want to keep watching whether the account went down to $0. I want them to charge my credit card either monthly or when certain amount is reached or every time I use toll roads. I dont care which one, but what I care about is not having to waste my time managing epass or sunpass accounts.

With Sunpass, you set a minimum amount (as low as $10) to have in your account. Once you dip under that, you get charged. Just like signing up for Starbucks Auto-Load. At the time of the scandal, I may have gotten dinged one time more than I should, but I was too lazy to make sure.

Originally Posted by NorthofHere

Epass works on all toll roads in Florida, sunpass does not. Epass also will work in most of the Eastern seaboard states that use ezpass if you get the epass Xtra vs. the regular epass. If you get the removable transponder you can move it from car to car.

I guess there could be bridge issues, but I was under the impression that Sunpass and E-Pass (Central Florida Expressway Authority) worked on every Florida toll road. What road in Florida does Sunpass not operate?

The Xtra has a new name. Uni.
https://www.cfxway.com/uni

[tonyp22]

Originally Posted by boy3365

The Xtra has a new name. Uni.
https://www.cfxway.com/uni

I just got an Xtra! I looked at the website and it’s not clear how/if the Uni is different from the Xtra.

[SanyBelle]

Originally Posted by Huasho

Billing ? ? ? Heck who sends bills in this time and age....They can play with my miserable Low Balance all they want for their advantage, I just need simplicity in my Bills, and Sunpass fits the Mold.

Off topic but I saw someone writing a check at Publix the other day to pay for their groceries!

[RMD3819]

I have the now “Uni” version also. No fees. Can’t beat 18 states.

If you travel to Texas get one from the North Texas Toll Authority. Works in TX, KS, and OK.

[Gypsy3n8]

The E-Pass Plus works all along the East Coast, not the regular E-Pass. Living in PA, I have the EZ-Pass, but it does not work in many places in FL. We bought the Sunpass Mini for the vehicle we drive down in.

[Huasho]

One CERTAIN fact is that you need to get a Transponder/Sticker from whomever SERVES you and your needs better, gettin billed by tag without a TOLL GIZMO in your vehicle, is no fun, expensive and a pretty dumb move on your part !!!

[Huasho]

Originally Posted by SanyBelle

Off topic but I saw someone writing a check at Publix the other day to pay for their groceries!

The Seventies came right back to your mind !!! , Never mind the blank check prices in this day and age, a frikken register will set you back $1.50 at BoA...I couldn't believe when Mom told me.

Ripping Off Extra Old Sr Citizens !!

[davephan]

Update. At this point in time, we’ve lived full time in Florida for two and a half years. On average, our SunPass usage is less than $10 a month. The most common toll road / bridge that we use is the Sunshine Sky Bridge which connects the Bradenton / Lakewood Ranch / Sarasota area to St Petersburg. Recently, the toll prices were quietly increased. Every five years, the tolls can adjust to the cost of living. The cash toll price for the Sunshine Sky Bridge used to be $1.50 for a standard two axle vehicle. Now, the cash price is $1.75. The discounted price with the SunPass was $1.07 and is now $1.16. The cost for the SunPass mini transponder is about $5. The cost for the portable SunPass transponder is about $20. The mini transponder lasts as long as you own your vehicle. There are many other toll transponders that work with the Florida toll system, but I don’t know if you get the toll discount if you use the other toll transponders.

I see a lot of vehicles that use the cash toll lanes on the Sunshine Sky Bridge. On really nice beach days on the weekends, sometimes the cash lines are a half mile long. Those people have to wait a long time in line to pay the toll with cash. It’s a no brainer to get a SunPass, rather than pay with cash. You don’t have to stop to pay the toll. There’s no hassle with stocking your vehicle up with coins. You don’t get the discount on the tolls, you pay the full, higher price. I’ve heard people that refuse to get the SunPass say that they don’t want their vehicles being tracked. The vehicles can be tracked just as easily with license plate readers.

There are places where there’s no option to pay the cash tolls. In those places, they use license plate readers, and there’s an extra surcharge on top of the higher full toll price. So again, it’s a no-brainer to get the SunPass toll transponder. It’s easy to install and easy to set up and use the SunPass app on the cellphone to monitor and occasionally add money to the SunPass account. Normally, I add $100 when the balance drops below $50. With the average cost of less than $10 a month, I don’t have to add money to the SunPass account very often.

[Lillie767]

I use my New York E-Z pass with $10 auto-replenish if the balance drops below $15.

Excellent for travelling along the east coast and the mid-west.

Valid in:

Delaware
Florida
Illinois
Indiana
Kentucky
Maine
Maryland
Massachusetts
Minnesota
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Jersey - Delaware
New York
New York City Area
North Carolina
Ohio
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
Virginia
West Virginia

Georgia coming soon.

https://www.e-zpassny.com/en/about/facilities.shtml

[twowilldo]

Sunpass is has recently upgraded its regular Sunpass to a Sunpass Pro option, which works everywhere an EZ Pass works, plus the same Florida tolls. Cost is $14.95 plus tax for the portable transponder and $4.99 for the mini transponder.