SunPass : Highway Robbery?
 

I went to my SunPass account today to update my credit card info and happened to check my recent toll charges,

On a recent trip to Daytona I decided to take the new toll road that bypasses some of SR 46 through the bear sanctuary to see if I would save some time.

I was surprised to see that I was charged 3 times in 5 minutes for a total of $2.21.
That seems quite high for about 7 miles.

I tried a live chat, but it wouldn't allow my inquiry to be submitted.
I'll try to call them tomorrow to see if they have a malfunction with their new system.

So if you travel that way to Sanford Airport or I-4 check your account.

:icon_wink: Not trying to make light of your story but..... I think I'm starting to lose it a little. The first 3 things That came to me after reading were:
1. Was "Highway" robbery an intended pun?
2. $2.21 is a cheap price to not have to walk through a bear sanctuary.
3. If you went 7 miles in 5 minutes..... you were going at least 84 MPH.

All joking aside that does seem a little steep. Let us know what they say. :ho:

You were charged a total of $2.21 that is a STEAL compared to most toll charges. I was charged $5+ for going a few miles on one of the roads near Orlando. Or did you mean 3 X $2.21 = $6.63 ?????

Where is this bear sanctuary?

SR 46 east of Mt Plymouth, there is the Rock Springs Run State Reserve, Seminole State Forest, and the Black Bear Wilderness Area. Try Google maps to see it.

There must be quite a few bears around because the highway has 8 ft. high fences with barbed wire on top and tunnels under the road so they can roam.

Funny, that was my first thought as well.

It's the 1cent in the total that would bug me!

Is this a joke?

Sounds about right.

Sunpass
 

Always check the account. I frequently am charged as a tractor-trailer going through the Leesburg toll.

You can send Sunpass an email and they are very good about issuing credit.

This does happen a lot if you use the turnpike you have to check your statements.

Wow....$2.21 I don’t know if that’s worth even turning my computer on...amazing what gets people excited these days...

Hmm wonder if we could build a smaller one here put up fence between my house and a neighbor. Would we need ARC approval if we just had say 2 bears?

Shall we head north and take the Lincoln Tunnel into New York? $16.00 cash. $13.75 with EZ Pass. Same with the George Washington Bridge. Pay to Play! The Chesapeake Bay Bridge is a bargain: $4.00 cash and $2.50 EZ Pass. Golden Gate Bridge: $8.70. The Channel Tunnel from the UK to France? €49. The Pennsylvania Turnpike from near Philadelphia to near Pittsburgh is around $38.

I sort of like the idea of toll roads. Ideally, the people using the roads pay a substantial percentage of the cost of construction and maintenance. (I don’t know if that really happens.) You wanted to save time by avoiding a busy road and taking a special road built so you could do that. Now you know that the cost for that privilege is $2.21. You don’t have to do it again.

There has been talk about making all or most highways toll roads. People who don’t like it can take surface streets. I don’t like that idea, myself. I’d rather just pay for it through various taxes, such as gasoline taxes. However, there is something to say for the idea of making the people who use the road pay more of the cost of upkeep. And if I’m driving, say, in the Los Angeles area during rush hour, would I pay an extra $20 to avoid a couple hours of traffic and drive fast? You bet! Money well spent!

Bear sanctuary?
 

BEAR SANCTUARY? are you just being cute about the Ocala Forest?

We have it cheap here in Florida. Don't complain . california . gas tax is double

If you lived in Pennsylvania you would think that’s a deal!

Don’t forget Florida does not have State or Car taxes
 

We travel to Palm Beach via the Turnpike the charge is over $25.00 however when we lived in Virginia we paid a car tax each year of about $700.00 per vehicle and also a State Tax which we don’t have here. Love it here, don’t mind paying State tolls.

And as more cars in CA go electric there will be less paying the gas tax and it will continue to rise. Not sure what they're going to do with their All Electric by 2035 plan. Perhaps they will require tracking apps to send the electric vehicles a bill at some point?

$2.21 is cheap compared to the speeding ticket since you were averaging over 80 mph.


:ohdear:

great observation...the unintended consequences are the ones that frequently were the most challenging

All cars electric by 2035
 

They are dreaming...what happens when you lose contact with reality.

google it stu - no need to get another post

Gas tax PLUS toll charges is doubling down.
If you pay toll charges then should get refund of gas tax(part for roads) already paid for those miles.

Know that for sure ???

Everyone whines about Connecticut being so expensive...
But they have NO toll roads at all. They took them out. That meant someone had to pay for all the expenses that the toll revenue covered. So that meant more state taxes. That's one of the many reasons taxes are so high in Connecticut. They also have better and more services, which is what the citizens there want.

If you want your car to not sink into a pothole, to drive over a bridge that doesn't plunge to the river below it, the trees on the side of the highway to not start creeping to the point where their roots are destroying the pavement and leaves creating a sliding hazard in the autumn rains, sewers and gutters and storm basins maintained, snow plows and employees who know how to use them getting overtime to make sure the 4 feet dumped on the road is gone before you have to drive to work in the morning at 6am..

All of these things get paid for with tolls. And in Connecticut, they get paid with taxes instead. Now granted, Florida doesn't get enough snow for anyone to really care about that. But it gets plenty of everything else. You can cough up the money when you drive on the road you expect to be maintained in good condition, OR they'll take it out of your retirement check in the form of state income tax. It's your choice, but you'll be paying one way or not.

At least with toll roads, it's not JUST citizens paying the price. It's anyone who drives on those roads. Tourists pay huge fees for the privilege of being tourists in Florida. They're sharing the burden with you. Not so in Connecticut. If you work in the state, or you live in the state, you're the one paying the fee.

CA charges an annual electric car fee to partially compensate for the money they would have received via gas tax.

That’s funny.

someone has to pay for those tall fences and tunnels that keep the bears safe...might just as well be the folks using the road

Therapy fee
 

Oh to drive again on those dusty, dirt backwoods roads in greene county catskills mts until gov rockefeller paved them all over

Feed da bears
 

You get charged for the feedin of da bears as you go by. 🤗

Then drive the backroads.

The problem with just having a local fuel tax paying for local roads is that large truck weights actually wear roads out faster, and they may not have paid any local fuel taxes. The heavy truck wearing out roads is an issue if the truck weight exceeds the road structural classification, or there are crashes with road damages. A useage tax is more activity based, regardless of where the fuel is purchased, and is more usage appropriate if done by number of wheels, or type of vehicle.

sportsguy

Fuel taxes for large trucks who travel inter-state are apportioned based on miles driven in an area. So, even if a truck fuels in Ga and drives into Fl to deliver a load and then leaves the state without buying any additional fuel, Fl will get a part of the taxes paid in Ga.

Sanford
 

I recently traveled to the Sanford Airport via Turnpike, SR 408 and SR 417. I drove through 6 tolls: Turnpike, $2.94, SR 408, $1.15, $1.15, $.87, SR 417, $2.13, .$87. Total cost $9.11.

I could have gone the more direct route through backroads and it would have been toll free, but opted to take the highway as it was dark and I didn’t want to take my chances with heavy morning fog. I don’t mind paying the tolls.

You may not have realized that many of these highways do not have tollbooths, just overhead cameras along the way. It’s more efficient and really not terribly expensive.

simple math

How much time do you save by taking the toll road? If you save 15 minutes each way, that gives you 30 minutes more time to spend in Daytona, maybe it's worth it. If the alternate route has lots of stops and starts, you may be saving on gas and wear & tear on your car.

This is what happens in states without an income tax - they HAVE to get your money somewhere. At least with tolls, you get to CHOOSE if you want to make that payment.

any time someone feels the tolls are out of touch: you are invited to head up north & go thru the tolls of NY &NJ.

Maybe this will make you feel better: to get off Long Island via Staten Island round trip, is $35 if paying cash.

Seriously?
 

Are you serious? NO STATE INCOME TAX...GAS IS CHEAP...$2.21 in tolls a bargain!!!! It's why we all moved here!!!!