Renting a Car in the U.S.: How Toll Roads Work

In the United States, especially near major cities, there are quite a few highways, bridges, and tunnels that require you to pay a toll. In more and more places, you can only pay these tolls electronically—not with cash or a credit card. The problem is that there are different electronic toll systems. So how does that work if you want to take a long road trip through the United States in a rental car?

Toll Roads and Express Lanes

Toll roads in the United States are referred to by various terms: tollway, parkway, and turnpike. The rate is fixed, and if you use one in a rental car, you pay for the distance you’ve traveled on the toll road.

In addition to toll roads, there are roads—or more specifically, lanes—for which you must pay, known as Express Lanes. These are primarily found on roads that often become congested during the morning or evening rush hour. The fee for these lanes is variable: the heavier the traffic on the “regular” road, the more you have to pay to use the Express Lane. The current rate is displayed on variable-message signs, and payment for these fast lanes can only be made electronically. The direction of travel is often flexible—for example, into the city in the morning and out of the city in the evening.

Electronic Toll Systems in the U.S.

As described above, there are various electronic toll payment systems in the United States.

E-Z Pass is the most extensive system: this electronic toll tag is valid in as many as 17 states in the northeastern U.S. and around Orlando, Florida. SunPass is an electronic payment system for toll roads in Florida, Georgia, and North Carolina. TxTag is valid in Texas, Kansas, and Oklahoma. FasTrak can only be used in California.

Renting a Car in the U.S. with or without a Toll Device

Some major car rental companies have a standardized system that allows tolls to be paid electronically throughout the U.S. However, they all give it their own name. At Hertz (and its other brands, Thrifty, Dollar, and Firefly), the system is called PlatePass, while Enterprise (including Alamo and National) calls it TollPass , and the system used by Avis (along with Budget and Payless) is called e-Toll.

Smaller rental companies may also offer to install or activate an electronic toll device in your rental car, but this will be limited to the system used in the state where you rent the car. For example: E-Z Pass in the northeastern states, FasTrak in California, and so on.

With all these systems, you pay a daily fee for the toll device (usually with a maximum charge per rental period) in addition to the toll rates, of course. That toll payment is settled at the end of the rental period. Please note: the fees for the toll device in the rental car (also known as the “convenience charge” ) can vary widely. Also, the daily fee sometimes starts automatically the moment you drive the rental car on a toll road for the first time.

If convenience is your priority, the car rental company’s offer is quite attractive. But it’s almost never the cheapest option. With your own toll tag in your rental car, you’ll spend less on tolls in the U.S.

Your Own Toll Transponder in an American Rental Car

In states with many toll roads, most rental cars have a toll box (the transponder). This is often housed in a lead-lined box that you can open and close. When the box is closed, the toll station cannot make contact with it. Sometimes there’s only an on/off switch. If you want to use your own toll tag, you’ll need to make sure the box is hermetically sealed or that the switch is set to “off.” With some rental companies, this isn’t possible, and the system is activated the first time you drive through a toll gate. In that case, you must explicitly state when picking up the rental car that you do not wish to use it.

Which toll tag you should purchase depends entirely on your plans for a road trip in a rental car through the United States. A very convenient option for (almost) all states with toll roads in the eastern United States is the Uni toll tag, which you can purchase in advance. You can only set up the device when you pick up the rental car, since you’ll need to enter the license plate number.

If you’ll only be driving a rental car in Florida, Georgia, and North Carolina, a SunPass is more cost-effective. You can buy it at toll booths, gas stations, drugstores like Walgreens, CVS, or Navarro, and at the supermarkets Publix and Sedano’s. An even more cost-effective option for a road trip through Florida in your rental car is the Visitor Toll Pass. The downside is that you can only pick it up at Orlando International Airport.

For California, you can purchase a FasTrak toll tag at most Costco locations (including those just outside the San Francisco and San Jose airports) and at Walgreens drugstores.

You cannot purchase the TxTag (for Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas) yourself for a rental car, because you must apply for an account in advance and will need a license plate number to do so. If you plan to drive on toll roads in those states, you’ll have to use the rental company’s system. Incidentally, especially in Texas, it’s not that difficult to avoid toll roads.

Avoid not paying tolls in a rental car!

Whichever method you choose, remember that you must always pay tolls when using toll roads, bridges, or tunnels. If only electronic payment is available and you don’t have an active toll tag, your license plate number will be recorded and the bill will go to the owner of the rental car—that is, the rental company. This is called “toll by plate,” for which a higher toll rate applies. In addition, the rental company charges (often high) administrative fees.

Booking a U.S. Rental Car with a Toll System

You’ll always have to arrange to have a toll system installed or activated in the car you’ve rented in the United States on-site. Unfortunately, it’s not (yet) possible to see when making a reservation whether the rental car is equipped with such a system. You also cannot (yet) order it as an add-on when booking online, as you can for a child seat or a navigation system.

Exactly how toll payments are handled varies by rental company. Keep in mind that the major car rental providers are franchise operations. In other words, there may be differences even within a single brand, as local franchisees can set their own rules. That’s why it’s best to check your rental company’s website before departure to see what payment options they offer for the specific area you’re traveling to.

Road Trip in the U.S. with a Rental Car: How Much Are the Tolls?

Compared to toll rates in Europe, the amounts you pay to use U.S. toll roads are on the lower side. If you’re traveling through the United States in a rental car, you’ll naturally want to know how much you’ll spend on toll roads. There’s a handy website for this that calculates tolls based on the route you enter. This Toll Calculator works not only for toll roads in the United States and Canada, but in about 80 countries worldwide! Apps are also available for Android and iOS.

Can you avoid tolls when driving a rental car in the U.S.?

Whether you can avoid paying tolls altogether obviously depends heavily on where you plan to drive your rental car in the U.S.

Toll roads are common around major cities in the United States, but between those cities, toll roads are much less common. For example, most Interstates (highways with an “I” number) are toll-free, with the exception of a few roads in the northeastern U.S.

If you’ve rented a car, you can avoid toll roads with a little advance planning. On any navigation system (and also on Google Maps, for example), you can select the “avoid toll roads” option. Keep in mind that alternative routes often take more time and will also cost you more in fuel. However, avoiding toll roads often rewards you with much more scenic routes and allows you to discover places you would otherwise have missed.

Depending on your itinerary with a rental car, it is possible to avoid toll roads in the U.S., but this is rarely—if ever—the case for toll bridges and tunnels. To avoid them, you often have to take long detours or follow illogical routes, and in many cases, it’s not worth the trouble.