Tolls have long been a bane for rental car drivers, with their final bills often inflated by daily fees for access to the car rental companies' automated toll payment machines.
A toll authority in Florida now wants to avoid the price shock on rental cars. The Central Florida Expressway Authority, based in Orlando, has started issuing temporary toll passes, which are given free of charge to travelers who rent a car at Orlando International Airport. This allows drivers to pay for the toll roads like locals.
The program – which the toll agency says is the first of its kind in the country – is designed to ensure that a traveler's final memory of a trip to Orlando is not marred by fees for a rental car transponder.
“There was a misconception that toll authorities like us or Florida's Turnpike were getting these fees, but that's not true,” said Michelle Maikisch, executive director of the Central Florida Expressway Authority. User fees often go to third-party contractors who process toll payments for rental car companies. “Our board is made up of elected officials from local communities, and they were getting calls and emails asking us to find a solution,” Ms. Maikisch added.
Throughout Orlando Airport, signs advertising the Visitor Toll Pass direct travelers to download the pass app, where they can register for an account using a credit card. After registering, users receive a QR code that allows them to unlock a toll pass at one of six kiosks located near the airport's rental car counters. The label is designed to be attached to a car's rearview mirror.
To register, travelers must first deposit $10, which will be used to pay the toll. Once that $10 is spent, the user's credit card will be charged each time a toll is incurred. If a traveler does not spend the full $10 to pay the toll, the remaining balance will be refunded to the credit card upon return of the tag. Travelers can return the tags at 14 drop boxes located around the airport. Failure to return them will result in a $10 fine.
According to the toll authority, using toll roads from the airport to Disney World typically costs $6.19 in tolls. In addition to tolls, car rental companies often charge fees for transponder use. For example, for rentals in Florida, Avis charges $6.95 per day once the device is activated – whether or not you use the transponder to pay tolls on any given day – with a cap of $34.95 for rentals of 30 days or less.
To avoid excessive charges, Orlando Airport renters must refrain from using a transponder or payment service when reserving or returning a rental car and, if applicable, ensure that the toll transponder in the vehicle is set to the closed or non-payment position.
While the Visitor Toll Pass program remains limited to car rental locations at Orlando's main airport, the pass is valid on all toll roads and most bridges throughout the state.
Orlando International, which handled 57.7 million passengers in 2023, is considered the world's largest rental car location. The Visitor Toll Pass, piloted in 2018 and which the agency says has a 99.5 percent approval rate among previous users, was expanded to all of the airport's terminals this spring.
At the national level, travelers have other options to avoid tolls. For example, they can bring their own transponder from home – and make sure in advance that it is compatible with the destination – or rent a car from the car-sharing platform Turo, which only charges processing and administration fees if, for example, drivers incur tolls that exceed the scope of the provider's transponder.
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