Visiting Orlando, Sarah ended up in a Florida Turnpike toll booth that only accepted change or EZ-Pass. The booth apparently wasn’t set up to capture her rental’s license plate and automatically charge her. It was unmanned. She had no change. She found a solution to the problem that was practical, but violated some traffic laws. She wonders: what would others have done?
Here is her tale of tollbooth woe:
Upon a visit to Florida, we landed in Orlando Airport (MCO).
Picked up a rental and went eastwards on the 528 towards Cocoa Beach.The 528 is a turnpike, and unmanned at the time (10 PM). We had only notes (had single dollar notes mind you), but the machine only accepted coins or Ez-Pass, and I found no contact information or information on what to do.
At the situation, I considered calling 911 to let them know of our stranded vehicle in booth 3, but dialed 411 and asked for the Florida Turnpike company.
After being rerouted the machine told me to call back between 9 and 5.No cars had passed in the last ten minutes, and I started backing at the shoulder of the road, ready to halt if a vehicle came by.
None came and after a mile or so I came to an intersection, allowing me to fetch a drive through burger and get me the required quarters.The issue has intrigued me.
Should I have called 911 (or perhaps Florida Highway Patrol)?
Perhaps just gone through and paid the fee for passing without paying?
And are they not required to take my money unless I have coins (notes are legal tender too!)?Here’s putting my head out hoping for tips.
Anyone else been in the same situation?
What did you do?
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This happened to me in Houston yesterday where all of the major highways have toll road entrances and exits interspersed with free roads in a confusing maze. I’m sure the people behind me in the change lane didn’t mind waiting while I put my car into park and dug around my floor for the $.75 for my mistaken turn, but fortunately I dug it up and got through.
I’m not sure what I would have done if I didn’t have the change lying around. Both the ez pass and exact change lanes at the exit were unmanned, had lots of traffic ,and had a solid metal bar go down that prevented passage unless I paid the fee or flashed my pass.
It’s too bad tolls are in the middle of a road and not just at each on ramp.
Or they could at least put up big signs before you’re about to get on a toll road.
576 to Pittsburgh Airport the booths are all at one end, exit/on ramps.
I’d have run the toll without even thinking twice. Oooh, you set off an alarm bell. You can’t see it, but that’s my “I don’t give a crap” face. In the EZPass system, all the booths have video monitoring of all the toll booths. Mainly it’s a back-stop against cars with faulty transponders (hence why EZPass requires you to link your account to specific vehicles)
It’s also used for toll enforcement when someone without EZPass runs the toll. In which case they just send you a bill in the mail (possibly with service charge/penalty).
I took a wrong turn and ended up at a toll booth in the Baltimore area with no cash or coins. The booth attendant was (surprisingly) pleasant and told me to drive on thru and the camera would take a photo of my license plate and they’d send me a bill. Sure enough, a couple weeks later I received a bill for the $2, which was the toll, no extra fees.
It amazes me how many people think 911 is what you call for non emergency situations. Some states have had such problems with ignoramuses calling 911 for a cat that’s up in a tree and the like that they’ve started billboard and radio advertising to show them the non emergency police phone number.
“It amazes me how many people think 911 is what you call for non emergency situations. ”
Some law-abiding citizens panic when they are caught in a no-win situation like having no money at a toll booth and don’t want to break the law.
This happened to me twice (but I didn’t call 911). Once was when my one and only quarter dropped on the ground and I couldn’t find the coin. Lots of honking horns behind me and I flipped out. Attendant waved me through.
The other time the toll machine wouldn’t accept my legal coin (machine broken?). I just sat there (with honking horns) until I was waved through.
Yeah, I would have called 911 if I was in an area where I didn’t know the non-emergency number and the toll wasn’t manned. It’s all too easy to be arrested nowadays for the most minor crimes. This ignoramus would rather call 911 then take the chance of being arrested.
Pull up on the reins of your high horse, there, pardner! In these parts if you call the non-emergency police number it gets routed directly to 911 a times.
So when my whacky neighbor let her dogs out to bark the neighborhood awake at 0400, I called the non emergency number and got the 911 operator. Not quite functional yet, I mumbled an apology and hung up to dial the non emergency number again.
I felt severely unworthy calling 911 about a noise/animal control issue, but that’s how it works here. This is not a small back end of nowhere town either.
For a second incident, it went to 911 in the middle of the day on a Saturday. I don’t have to call the police often enough to know if this is just the norm, but it may well be.
One time I was taking the metro in Montreal and there were no ticket machines and there was nobody in the ticket booth. I didn’t know what to do. Finally someone came by and I asked him what I should do. He replied ‘ride for free’.
While vacationing in Ontario (Canada), I have taken a number of times the toll freeway which crosses the province. I did so in a number of different rental cars over the years, and all that happens is the system photographs “my” plate, bills the rental car company, and they add it to my bill.
In Australia, I hit several toll roads in New South Wales and Queensland. All I had to do was go online and fill out a form within 3 days of (i.e. after) passing through the toll, and the amount was billed to my credit card.
Put another way: There are still places where you have to actually stop and pay at a gated toll booth?
Yes. “throw the money into the bucket” type near Pittsburgh Airport. Also has Easypass.
What an incredible scam! I once drove a rental through an EZ-Pass type toll in Chicago due to being confused by massive amounts of construction going on. The EZ-Pass lanes were actually separate from the manned tolls and you had to exit ahead of time to choose and I chose wrong.
Luckily the toll authority up there didn’t charge anything extra. I was able to pay it online through my non-smartphone, even, while in the hotel room. If they’d tacked on a $50 charge I’d have been spitting nails.
Hi, I’m Sarah as mentioned in the article.
I do agree on the comments that I never should have backed up, and rather just passed and fighted the charge later on.
It’s not a proper argument that I was afraid of both heavy charges from the rental company since I wouldn’t be able to pay the SunPass company (they ask you not to mail cash, and being a foreigner we dumped the checks back in the 90′s), nor that any cruiser would inquire and possibly be angry for us just being stranded. It was a decision of the moment…
I’m also happy that this isn’t a rare situation, and will of course go out of my way to get proper coin change at the earliest opportunity the next time we’re around. Perhaps I expected a note to coin change machine or a card reader, or at least a telephone number or instructions on how to progress if unable to present coins.
I also agree 911 is being misused a lot, but again, being a foreigner I hadn’t knowledge of anywhere else to go (only remembering 411 from contemporary music…). Later I discovered I could dial *FHP to get the Florida Highway Patrol.
Would anyone kindly let me know the telephone number for the Florida police in non-emergency? And would the FHP be a non-emergency line as well? I’ll be sure to store it for future situations.
Thanks again to all posters, I really wanted and needed some community feedback.
Sarah
I get that the average person or tourist doesn’t really care but it doesn’t hurt for “locals” to get their terms and agencies straight… I get aggravated when people use the wrong terms and company names.
There is a state agency “Florida’s Turnpike Enterprise” which actually runs a road called, wait for it, “Florida’s Turnpike.” (http://www.sunpass.com) Other roads are run by regional expressway authorities. In this case, it was the Orange County Expressway Authority. (https://www.oocea.com/)
“528 is a turnpike”
Yes, 528 is a toll road, but not by the turnpike agency, see OOCEA above.
“the machine only accepted coins or Ez-Pass”
There is no “EZ-PASS” in Central Florida for the area you described it would be “E-Pass” I’ll grant you this mix up because even the local news doesn’t always get it right.
Here’s the number(s) you wanted:
Orlando-Orange County Expressway Authority
Ph: 407-690-5000
SunPass Call Center
1-888-TOLL FLA
(1-888-865-5352)
Local number:561-470-6650 Ext. 7501
You were more likely to get ticketed for blocking the lane and endangering other people than for worrying about a $0.50 toll. You could call *FHP if you thought it was an emergency but – really? Don’t call law enforcement, proceed through normally and do a follow up call to work things out later.
Hope the rest of your stay went well. Love Cocoa Beach!
OK, the secret’s out it’s the honor system
Been there. On 576 (?) going to Pittsburgh Airport. Plenty of money, no change. We searched the car, no dice. Then I noticed the machine has a coin return, so I thought to try pushing it, when I saw the coin chute there was simply LOADED with small change – way more than we needed.
It was a quiet day so I checked the others real quick – jackpot. Came out way ahead AND left the needed 50 cents in each return – for the next poor, changeless soul.
People must have learned because every time I go through there I look at the return and it is empty now.
Just a tip for those who drive the Garden State Parkway. Never ever run the EZ Pass lanes unless you have a transponder. If you are without change and absolutly must skip paying the toll go through one of the “exact change” lanes. EZ-Pass lanes will take your picture and send you a ticket, exact change lanes do not.
Of course that may have changed since I used to regularly drive the GSP.
Foolishness like this is why I always have $20 in quarters in my car. Then I’m prepared for coin-operated car washes, tolls, and meters. And vending machines.
SunPass offers a transponder sticker with bar code. Most rental car companies use them. Check winshield for it when renting a car in FL.
I just drive though the EXPass lane and they send you a ticket just send it back saying you didnt have the change and there was no help.