Toll road transponders for snowbirds (Uni vs EXPass vs SunPass)
 

Hi all,
I don't see any recent forum threads on this topic:

I have had a SunPass for years dedicated to toll road travel in Florida. I now believe I can cancel that account and solely use our EZPass?

The 2nd question is keeping our Ohio-based EZpass vs the interstate Uni transponder. Any input on that is appreciated.

Uni Pass vs E-ZPass: Comparing Toll Payment Systems

I believe you will okay with your Ohio E-ZPass.

Here is a map of the E-ZPass network from a Maryland site. The area includes Ohio. The Florida section is marked "CFX only" but here is another map that shows all of Florida.

You should be okay.

As for which one to keep, I would take a look at the discounts available for use of a local transponder and any maintenance costs. Some Maryland tolls are a little less for an E-ZPass which was purchased and registered in Maryland. Florida may offer a similar discount for E-ZPass and Ohio may as well. I believe Maryland also charges a maintenance fees if your mailing address is outside the state. Look into those details for the options you are considering - there might be a clear winner.

I have an EZPASS issued from Ma no maintenance fees auto loads from checking account.

i keep both, just in case, for my own peace of mind, daughetr's car has that plus UNI

If you have 2 transponders, they will both register at the toll plaza, and you will be charged twice.

yeah, but there was a time i went to renew my registration when they told me i had unpaid back tolls. i had no idea, i thought my Sunpass took care of it all. i was told i need an Epass as well.

I believe I am correct about this, but some of the older SunPasses may not be compatible with the EZPass system. I know I needed a new SunPass Pro transponder. Check the SunPass website.

EZ Pass is the way to go since it is good for lots of other states. You WILL get charged for both if you keep your Sun Pass & EZ Pass in your vehicle.

I have both and I keep the unused one in an EMF pouch in the glove box. The pouch was like $12 on Amazon. It works. I have both an EMF detector and did a real world test. Stick phone in pouch and dial it...offline.

The only thing I've found that the EZ-Pass doesn't work for is the sunpass parking at MCO. I pulled up, the gate never went up so I pushed the button.

About a minute later I realized the EZpass was in the window, not the Sunpass.

Everything else, like the FL Turnpike it works great. Ezpass of course works in the northern states just like normal.

Sunpass Pro works in more places than EZ-Pass.

My SunPass Pro works in all of the EZPass states as well as Florida. It also works in Ohio. In this link is a map: https://www.sunpass.com/en/about/pro...est%20Virginia.

You are correct.

Sunpass works with toll roads in the southeast states
E-ZPass works with toll roads in the northeast states
Sunpass-PRO has both Sunpass and E-ZPass in a single unit and works with toll roads in both the northeast and the southeast states

Uni is from another tolling agency. They also have a version that includes both Sunpass and E-ZPass but I haven't looked it up to see what it is called.

We have the Sunpass Pro and it's worked great for us driving through NY, WV, NC, GA and FL.

EZPass seems to work everywhere all the others work. Except at a select few parking lots.
EZPass has different monthly maintenance fees for each state. Some states have no fees.
Last I checked, toll costs were charges the same. Has anyone found different?

Does EZ pass give the same discount as SunPass

I've gotten into a bind twice, with EZPass and just took it off and put on a SunPass.

You can't park in some lots at Orlando Airport, without a SunPass and there are also issues with EZPass at Tampa Airport.

As someone else mentioned, you can get into trouble with (2) passes on your car.

I drive from NH to FL fairly frequently and never have a problem on the road with EZPass, but I have had problems in Northern states with SunPass.

I don't think there's an easy answer.

We had both and dropped Sun Pass. With the exception of the airports have had no differences between either.....our was a PA EZ Pass. The only reason we dropped SunPass was they wanted an upgrade to Pro for a charge while EZ Pass worked without an upgrade. I use EZ Pass through most of the States once a year and have had no issues.

Get it from the horse's mouth: Call them.

In the U.S. and Canada:
1-888-TOLL FLA (1-888-865-5352)
FAX: 1-888-265-1725 (except Canada)
Monday to Friday, 7:00AM - 7:00PM
Saturday, 8:30AM - 5:00PM
Closed Sundays

Agree. We now put our Sunpass in the glove compartment and wrap it with Aluminum foil..

I was sent a new EZ pass transponder, the transponder came in a silver cover plastic envelope and was instructed to keep it in the envelope if I was not using EZ pass in the state I was in. It seems this envelope protects it from being detected, this preventing you from being charged by two systems.

SunPass PRO works on EZPass in the northeast...MD, DE, NJ, NY....

I only have a Sunpass and travelled around the country this past summer and It worked almost everywhere (FL, around Charlotte, WV, PA and I-70 in KS I believe) except E470 in Colorado. I bought the suction cup pass so I can move it to other cars if necessary. Even in KS, the signs did not say SunPass but when I pulled thru the toll booth, the guy said I was good with the SunPass. The SunPass website says the SunPass Pr is good in 21 states. Since I live in FL, I like the times there are toll relief programs for various reasons. the SunPass website also says you get cheaper rates in FL than the other transponders… not 100% sure about that.

https://www.sunpass.com/en/tolls/tollsSunPass.shtml

Have been using Illinois EZPass since before we moved here over a year ago and works great.

E-ZPass
 

I use my E-ZPass that I got in VA all the time in FL. BUT, if I am using Groome or any other transport company on my way to the airport and have my transponder in my bag because I need it where I am traveling to, I always wrap it in aluminum foil so I won't be charged as we travel in the van to/from the airport. I remove the foil when I arrive at my destination especially if I need my transponder for a rental car.

We use EZ-Pass. Just make sure the transponder matches the plate of the vehicle that it is in. We received a toll by plate bill when the transponder didn’t read properly and when I called I was told that was the reason we received the bill.

If an EZPass is used in a rental car would the rental company also charge you?

I am assuming rentals just use lic plate readings from the state, but if a EZpass registers as you go through would the rental company still get a bill to forward to you?

I have both a SunPass and EZ-Pass from the New York area. Last May, I received a notice for the EZ-Pass about a toll in Florida. It was for less than a dollar so I just let it go. However, I did make sure to remove the EZ-Pass from my car while in Florida. Last month, EZ-Pass picked up two tolls from Florida and SunPass did as well. How it did it without the transponder in the car is beyond me. I have written to EZ-Pass New York, shoed both the NY and Florida statements, but have not received any reply (I tried calling but the is a 40-minute wait to speak to someone).

Another problem is that outside of the immediate New York area EZ-Pass does not allow the discounted rate and charges the full rate. For example, the charges on my EZ-Pass for the Florida tolls were the full toll plate charge, not the discounted rate. Same in the NY area - I get the discounted rate for the river crossings and the NJ Turnpike but once I reach the Delaware Memorial Toll bridge all discounts are stopped. This continues through Maryland and the express lanes in I-95 around Washington. I know that the AAA looked into the matter but I have not heard anything conclusive.

We bought our Unipass transponders on Amazon for $15. It is accepted everywhere that EPass and E-Zpass is accepted. We have an online EPass account which we have reloaded as needed. Below are the states it includes:

Florida (including express lanes)
Maryland
Rhode Island
Indiana
Georgia
Delaware
Illinois
Minnesota
North Carolina
New Jersey
Massachusetts
New Hampshire
Kentucky
Virginia
Pennsylvania
Maine
West Virginia
New York
Ohio

The other alternative is SunpassPro which gives you all the states on E-Zpass and EPass as well as a few more states like Kansas, Oklahoma, and parts of Texas. I have heard Sunpass has horrible customer service.

Summary of EZ Pass vs SunPass etc
 

Hi all,
Thanks for the replies. Here's a summary and I'll likely close this discussion:

• If you have multiple transponders or are traveling in other transportation (airport shuttle), be sure to wrap your transponder in aluminum foil or protective pouch so that it does NOT record a toll.
  
  
• The EZ Pass transponder now works in Florida roads with the exception of some specific places including parking at the TPA and MCO (Orlando) airports. Therefore, in most cases, you can close your Florida SunPass account.
  Ref: https://www.sunpass.com/en/common/docs/fl_toll_map.pdf
  
  
• Each State "system" retains some level of funds from your bank account in advance and many state-provided EZ Pass systems have a monthly fee.
  Ref: E-ZPass Costs by State 2024
  Don't get an EX Pass from New Hampshire!

My specific interest is migrating away from an Ohio EZ Pass that adds $1.50 fee monthly (not a big deal) versus a one-time purchase from Uni that can replace my EZ pass for a fixed one-time purchase...ref: Uni — One Toll Transponder That’s Accepted in 18 States | Central Florida Expressway Authority

From what I understand, the EZ-Pass rates depend on which state you bought it from - don't know if you can change to another state. I also think you may need to only use it in the car it is registered for. Two things to be aware of.

Apparently Unipass can be used in various vehicles. (move the transponder to travel with you). Another thing to consider.

You can get an EZ-Pass that has no initial purchase fee and no monthly fee. For example, Virginia.

There is a difference between EZ-Pass and E-Pass. My EZ-Pass from Ohio worked on all Florida toll roads except the Turnpike. I now have E-Pass, from the Central Florida Expressway Authority, which works on all east coast toll roads and the Florida Turnpike. E-Pass was more usable than EZ-Pass. Here is a link to their website:

E-PASS Purchase-Register-Reload

. We drive to PA with only an ez pass. I got rid of our sunpasses.

We have both, for the discounts and backup for misplacement (happened between cars)

use EZPASS MA for the MA discounts
use SunPass for the FL Discounts in FL.

The battery life is about 7-8 years, so they will fail eventually, and you can get a free one (usually, they may decide to charge in the future)

For those who snowbird / travel, pick the state where you spend the most in tolls and get that state's transponder if going with a single one. The Sunpass app works very well to change plates if flying in and using a rental car and your own transponder, prefer that one for traveling to the EZ pass

Once you register the car and plate, and you forget to put the transponder up, or it falls off or the transponder battery dies, your account is still billed based on the plate reader, so no bill in the mail but no discounts. (first hand experience and confirmation call with FL DOT when our MA EZ Pass battery died during a trip between MA and FL)

good luck. .

Yes...you are correct. We purchased a SunPass Pro specifically for our trips back to New England. SunPass Pro works everywhere. The SunPass Pro mounts with the suction cups and we remove it when we return to Florida.

We access our SunPass account and deactivate the permanent mini SunPass that is stuck behind the rear view mirror. There is a simple pulldown box on the website to deactivate any transponder. The morning we leave we deactivate the permanent one and stick up the SunPass Pro. This way we will not get charged twice.

Obviously, when we return the SunPass Pro goes into the desk and we "re-activate" the regular credit card size SunPass mini permanently mounted behind the rearview mirror.

TIP: Remember to deselect the SHOW ACTIVE TRANSPONDERS button on the Sun Pass website (it is at the top right) so you can see the transponders to activate or the site will "hides" the deactivated transponders.

Easy-Peasy.

Why not deactivate the "regular" SunPass permanently and work exclusively off the SunPass Pro?

Odd, our PA EZ Pass works on all FL toll roads including the FL Turnpike. E-Pass provided no advantage, Sunpass provided no advantage. Downside is if you use Tampa or Orlando airports it doesn't work in their parking areas but, we never take our car to those airports so no issue. I travel through almost all the EZ Pass states once a year and have never had an issue, which was the intent of the revenue sharing agreements. I canceled Sunpass because I couldn't see an advantage to pay to upgrade to Pro. So far, no issues anywhere.

The SunPass mini is permanently affixed to the windshield (we have one in each vehicle).

The SunPass Pro is portable--so we can use it on whichever car we take north--we swap it out and deactivate the mini.

We also loan it out to out-of-state visitors so they can use it in their rental car while they are visiting (and that way we don't have to drive them everywhere :-)

We also use the SunPass Pro on those odd trips we take on the east coast when we use a rental car. Easy to update the plate on the app....

When we purchased the pro ONLY came with the suctions cup mount. It works out quite well and it is very versatile.

I have an easypass but plan to get a sunpass and cancel the essy pass. I belive they both cover the same hightways.

I have a SunPass Pro & from personal experience the customer service is excellent.