How does the turnpike work?
 

We used the turnpike recently to go to Orlando. It was the first time I used the turnpike in the 30 years I have lived in Florida. I am used to the old fashion "get a ticket" at the start, and then hand it in at the end of your ride, along with your money. However, there were no ticket booths when we got on the turnpike from 301.

Since I was using Google Maps with Siri, for directions, she gave us a wrong direction. Siri said left, my wife said right, but it was too late and I just followed Siri's lead. As I did veer left, I went through what looked like a camera capture lane, and then had to quickly get in my right lane, where there was no camera capture, which was the lane my wife had shouted, for me to take, at the last minute. Then, a mile or two up the road, I paid a toll with cash. I didn't know how they calculated how much I owed, but I figured that maybe they just have toll booths every so often, and that's what you pay. However, now I'm wondering if that camera capture lane, which Siri directed me to, will also send me another bill? And, if they do I guess there is no "Siri" recourse for not having to pay that one? Confused? So am I.

I can’t tell what they will do, but I think you have to actually go through the toll booth area before they charge you. They may charge you again, and there’s not much you can do about it. It’s not like it’s a bajillion dollars.

You may want to consider buying a SunPass at your nearest retail location, then go online and load some money onto it.

That way, you just need to look for the big sign over the toll booths that say SunPass. I had to laugh, because my husband and I have had that same last minute frantic discussion about which lane to get into.

You pay on Exit.
Or.
At toll booth across Turnpike, where it is Sun Pass one side, usually left, or cash to the right.
Open pay booths have green lights.

E pass is free. Sign up on line

First, get Sunpass. Second, your plate was captured and expect a letter with the bill. Third, the Turnpike is getting rid of manned toll booths in favor of Toll By Plate and Sunpass. Sunpass is cheaper.

You're billed according to the determination of various cameras along the route. Not all entrances will have a toll. But never fear - they'll catch you along the way at some point, and they'll add that camera's capture to the bill at the end of the month.

R u sure it’s free?.. why did I pay $15. At Publix to get the last one because they are in high demand now that they just came out. These can be used in participating various states.

I just marvel that you have lived here for 30 years and are now just getting around to using the Florida Turnpike. Not trying to be snarky ..... just amazed since it is one of the primary North-South thoroughfares. As a previous poster noted, your license was captured by camera and they will bill you by mail. If, as you said, you paid a cash toll a mile or 2 ahead of the cameras, I have to imagine you exited the turnpike and paid a small toll for that short distance.

They are doing away with toll collectors. We had an ezpass but only certain portions of the road can charge that way. Got rid of it and now have a uni which works in all of Florida and 17 other states. You will get a bill for the toll and an administration fee of $2.50 for each toll you go through. Not a good value for me. The uni costs $15. The epass xtra has been discontinued but will be honored. Epass is still available and sunpass is too. Check out the differences between them but they are more similar than different.

The cards will be obsolete shortly as will the stop and pay booths. If you dont have a sun pass, then the other lanes just capture your plate number and youre sent a bill. Simple

Turnpike
 

They mail you a bill and it’s pretty expensive. Mine was $10+.

That’s a good defense in traffic court “Siri” told me.

Don't worry about it
 

Other people with a lot of tried to describe what is going on. In Florida as you may realize it's a lot different than living in New York or Jersey where their means sobs. In my 20 plus years of dealing with politicians, tax collectors, and toll collectors here, they've all been nice and tried to be fair with me. If I were you and you get a bill, you can call the number on the bill and talk to somebody on the other side. We are all human beings and make mistakes. You may want to get on the computer and also read the turnpike / highway authority website a little bit. The prices per mile are really pretty fair, and we go from Leesburg to the airport several times a year as well as going to restaurants in Orlando which is pretty fast and luckily for us the turnpike usually is never crowded like route 4 in Jersey or the West side highway in Manhattan . Enjoy life and explore Florida you'll be very glad you did

If you moved here from any of the 18 states that use E-Z Pass, you can continue using it in Florida. Reference here.

Sad goodbye to the toll collector
 

I recall reading an article in the Sun a year or so ago when the changes went into full swing. Due to safety concerns with the collectors, maintenance of the equipment and efficiency of the system, the new process was inevitable. The "Pay by the Plate" fee is 15 - 25% higher than the SunPass/E-Pass rate, but they will track you down (personal experience) with a great picture of your license plate! I think all occupied toll booths are supposed to be eliminated by the end of this year. There may even be an article or a link on the SunPass website that explains it better.

EZ Pass Now works in Florida and all the eastern states. No need for snowbirds to get two

Sunpass is also handy at Orlando and Tampa airports (and perhaps others) for paying your parking fee by just driving through the Sunpass exit. We used Sunpass a lot more often when we wintered in Lakeland but even in TV its handy for the turnpike and the airports. WRT your question, we had a similar situation in one of the Eastern States. When we got home I went on the State site for EZPass or whatever it was, and was able to pay the tiny toll fee without the admin charge. Sunpass has a similar system. Go to their website https://www.sunpass.com/vector/invoi...oiceInquiry.do and click on Pay Without and Invoice or Citation. It will ask for your plate number and Zipcode. I have not had to do it, but it looks like it will save you the $2.50 admin charge. None of this is big money, but its irritating to pay an admin fee that may be larger than the toll that you owe. .... and as other posters have said, consider getting a Sunpass, its about five bucks for the one that sticks on your windshield. A nuisance when you buy a new car, but really pretty inexpensive.

Google “Open Road Tolling.” It’ll explain the national trend to automated toll collection (plus history and mechanics). All toll systems are going this way.

You will get a small toll invoice/picture of your tag/car going through the toll area in the mail at the address where your tag number is registered. Letter / invoice will tell you how to pay it online. Piece of cake.
Then go to Epass online to establish an account that will cover everything in the future including Sunpass. The little stickers for inside the windshield in front of your rear view mirror are free. That is all you need. Keep about 20 to 30 dollars in your account and you will have no problems in the future. The pay by camera/invoice is more expensive.

It’s pay by plate if you don’t have sun pass / E pass to use. You will get a bill in the mail, advise extra charges since they had to process manually.

You will get the Sunpass Pro, good for all States - similar to the Easy Pass. The Sunpass Pro will also allow payment of some parking fees, airport etc.

Get yourself a surpass at a CVS ($20), after you get it go online to sunpass.com register your device and put in a credit card number, this allows FDOT to automatically charge you when you use tolls.

Get rid of google maps. Use WAZE

They get pictures of license plate from behind and online it saids if you get off at exit without right change they will send you a payment envelope for the cost of what toll you missed and a $2.50 service fee. So not all that bad a fine if you go thru a toll. But the SUNPASS is great.
SunPasses are many times sold out at rest stop stores and many locations so.....
May I suggest, if you like to travel to Orlando or around the state or 3 other Southern states, you getting the portable receiver one you can take from car to car. It’s like $25 one time to purchase, then you load an amount on it and attach it to a charge card and it loads addition money to receiver account when it runs out. Only one place to get that portable receiver near Villages is the SUN PASS CUSTOMER SERVICE CENTER in Ocoee, Florida. They help you load it onto your phone and do the autopay re-Charge. For us it is very convenient so we can travel anywhere and not think about slowing down and getting cash out.

Simple advice: Get a Sunpass and dump Siri.
I adhere to the KISS theory.
It works!

You can use the sun pass toll
calculator ( just goggle it ) it tells you how much it costs from point A-B and let’s let’s you know how much you are charged and how much you save by using the sun pass

I lived in southwest, FL. No part of the turnpike came near there. I guess I'll have to wait until the end of the month to see if I was charged.

Your correct in what you paid.

Thanks everyone. It looks like I'll be getting SunPass for my car.

SUNPASS is very convenient!

OP said Siri, not Google.

Additionally, Google Maps is every bit as good as Waze and has the added benefit of showing walking and bike routes (which is great for using to get around the villages on golf cart). No need to switch between two map apps.

I gave Waze a shot for a few trips and didn't like it - back to Google Maps.

I didn't read thru every post as I normally would. If you get a ticket/fine for not paying your toll just send a check-in with a letter stating that to avoid an accident you went into the wrong lane on purpose. Chances are very great that will end your dilemma.

It happened just like that for real twice to me in NJ. I reported it in an apologetic letter and I was off the hook. Siri & the wife's directions are a dangerous combination indeed.

Don't worry about being confused, it's normal around these parts. It will be interesting to see if you get a summons in about a month. Best of luck.

Log into the Sun Pass System and pay for your pass thru. This is not a big thing. Then get yourself a transponder for your vehicle. Set it up and it is no longer an issue. If you are using toll roads east of Illinois and around Chicago get the new Sun Pass Pro. You are covered all over the country in Ill and east.

If you follow signs You pay at toll booths and may pay when you exit off toll road depending on where you exit? If you drive through without sun pass or any pass that works you will get ticket in mail and of course lots more than 3.75 or 4 dollar and .75 or bucks 1.50 exit toll. Not big fan of passes due they have credit card information and can up charge at will. Big problem with contractor couple years overcharging. It don’t bother me bit to pay toll manually the few times I have to go to Orlando. Now if I had to travel everyday that would be different. Last time when to Orlando was 11 months to. So I don’t use toll roads that often.

Get an uni transponder from Amazon. Works in all states and gets rid of the monthly fee ez pass charges

EZ pass doesn't charge any monthly fee. Neither does SunPass. Both passes work similarly to loaded debit cards. You load money into the account, and it deducts whatever you spend going through tolls. It will also auto-load a minimum amount if you go under that amount.

So if you have it loaded at $20, and you set your minimum to $10, and you go through $11 worth of tolls, it'll automatically reload up to $20 again and charge your credit card for the balance.

If you don't use the pass for a few months, nothing happens at all. Whatever you have loaded onto the pass just sits there waiting for the next time you use it.


My question though, to anyone who might know:

I have the SunPass sticker on my windshield. I got it before EZPass was accepted on all roads in Florida. I ALSO have an EZPass from Delaware or Maryland (I don't remember which at the moment, it's one of them). Both of these have credit on them.

I keep my EZ Pass in the glove compartment since I do most of my driving within Florida.

But if I wanted to use up the credit I have with EZPass, while I'm in Florida, is there a way to do that, while I have that SunPass window sticker transponder?

You bought the new Sunpass Pro portable transponder which can be used both in Florida and several other States. If you only need Sunpass in Florida, buy the $5 transponder windshield stick on.

stop driving take a van

Wow! You’ve been driving exclusively on small roads and goat trails in Florida for 30 years! I remember the old computer card toll system. The computer card system must have gone away many decades ago! The manned toll booths are gone or going away, just like the street corner telephone booths!

It’s a no brainer to get a SunPass toll transponder. I hate the new ugly bright green SunPass design. I wish they still sold the less loud colored SunPass mini transponders.

You get a discount on the tolls using the SunPass. For example, the Sunshine Skybridge that connects St Petersburg to the south costs $1.50 cash, but only $1.07 with the SunPass. I don’t know if the EZ pass offers the same discount.

Once in awhile, there are miles of cars lined up to pay the cash tolls on the Sunshine Skybridge. You can avoid the hassles of waiting in line in the cash lanes. Avoid the hassles of carrying a pile of coins in your car, and get a discount on the tolls. Plus you can avoid being charged the administration fee. So, it’s a no brainer to get the toll transponder. But I still see tons of cars in the cash lanes. Some people never learn!

We’re averaging a little under $10 a month in tolls. If we lived in the Orlando area, it would probably be at least $100 a month, because Orlando has so many toll roads. We opened the SunPass account with about $30, and later added $100. It’s a lot less hassle to add $100, since the balance will last a long time, on the roads we normally travel.

I suggest if you can’t figure out how to setup your SunPass online account or SunPass toll transponder, then find a tech savvy person to help you get started. Then start the SunPass account with $100, to make the balance last longer. You can also periodically check your balance on your smart cellphone or computer. You’ll get a reminder email when your balance gets low.

We drove through southern Illinois a couple months ago. The manned toll booths were there on the trip up north, but gone on the trip back south. It’s the sign of the times. But the brain dead State of Illinois government didn’t bother to put their Internet URL address on their signs, to pay the toll online. But a quick search found the State of Illinois toll payment website, which made up for the lack of intelligence from the State of Illinois government people in charge of the toll system, which failed to post the website payment Internet address on the signs around the toll plaza.

After you get setup with the SunPass system, you’ll have less hassles in your life, and you’ll save some of your hard earned money.

Go to Walgreens. Get a sunpass mini. 5$. To home and google sunpass and create an account on the Sunpass web site load your cars information and the number on the Sunpass mini. It gives you an option to link your license plate. Do it. Load a bank account or credit card to draw money out of when you travel on the turnpike and pass a toll area. It works at the parking areas at the airport. The mini also saves you 25% on your tolls. I have been traveling to MCO for years. Once it is set up it’s so easy. It’s good in Georgia and North Carolina.. my understanding they are getting rid of all toll plazas and going to a plate system.