Quote:
Originally Posted by Dmrocano
the rental cars all subscribe to Sunpass by license plate, so even if you have your own Sunpass, the rental will trigger the charge as well. When I rent a car, all rentals force me to purchase Sunpass at $10 per day or pay $50 (yes $50) per toll if I do not subscribe to their plan. I visit for a few weeks and $10 X 30 days is $300 for one round trip to the Airport. So I decline the toll package and take the non-toll route to the Villages, which adds 40 minutes but worth it.
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Rental contracts are strange so this could be right, but it doesn't make sense.
You don't "subscribe to Sunpass by license plate." Sunpass has toll-by-plate but that applies to any vehicle that does not have a transponder. Someone visiting from Kentucky doesn't need to subscribe to Sunpass by license plate, if they go through a toll booth without a transponder then their plate will be read and they will be billed.
If I go through a toll booth without a transponder then I expect my plate to be read and a bill sent to my home. This doesn't happen because I always have the transponder with me. The toll reader sees the transponder, perhaps reads the account information to see if the plate on the vehicle matches the plate on the account, then takes the toll out of the account.
It would be odd if the toll readers did not respond the same way to a rental car. If no transponder is present then the plate is read and a bill is sent to the rental company. The visitor from Kentucky will have left a long time before the bill arrives so the rental company must collect money up front to cover any tolls - that might be the $30/day or $50 penalty. However, if the visitor from Kentucky has a transponder (EZ-Pass, Sunpass Pro, or any of other valid versions) and has added the plate from the rental car onto his account then it ought to act just as it does with mine - read the transponder, read the plate, make the match, and deduct from the account.
I haven't tried using a transponder in a rental car and I haven't talked with anyone who has. Rental agreements are odd (it's hard to believe they are actually legal) so strange things may happen. But, it doesn't make sense that the toll booths would treat a rental with a transponder any different than they would treat any other vehicle with a transponder.