Tolls driving from Ontario

[maiapapaya]

We will be driving to WDW next month from Ontario- first time driving. On our way down we will be taking the I75 route, but have to take 79/77/95 on the way back to deliver our daughter to school. Tell me about tolls. I hear many routes require/use transponders now? What does everyone do? (for both routes please)

 

[cslittle999]

We will be driving to WDW next month from Ontario- first time driving. On our way down we will be taking the I75 route, but have to take 77/79/90 on the way back to deliver our daughter to school. Tell me about tolls. I hear many routes require/use transponders now? What does everyone do? (for both routes please)

We’re driving down in October. Tolls south bound are $8.75. Some are electronic only, others have cash payments. If you use the express lanes at Charlotte or toll roads in Orlando it’s more. I’ve ordered a https://www.sunpass.com/en/about/pro.shtml which covers most of the states on the I75 route and all of them with tolls on the other route.

 

[bgula]

I've been considering this myself. We travel the I-79/I-95 route. I'm a little put off by the $14.95 cost of the transponder as my tolls for my trip probably wouldn't be much more than that amount if I paid cash. I have some questions: 1) Does having a transponder mean you pay less at the toll booths? 2) Would getting an EZ-Pass be just as efficient? I haven't checked that site yet, so don't know what the cost of an EZ-Pass is compared to Sunpass.

 

[PalmettoPath]

We've never found a transponder to be required on any route. We pay cash. Yes it's a pain to pull off to the toll booth and deposit cash (while transponder people keep going), but that's what we do.

 

[Jimmy Geppetto]

We’re driving down in October. Tolls south bound are $8.75. Some are electronic only, others have cash payments. If you use the express lanes at Charlotte or toll roads in Orlando it’s more. I’ve ordered a https://www.sunpass.com/en/about/pro.shtml which covers most of the states on the I75 route and all of them with tolls on the other route.

This! We ordered a Sunpass and it is awesome! It also has EZ-PASS which you can use to pay tolls at most border crossings. Well worth it IMO.

 

[damo]

We use the express tolls in Charlotte and have never been charged.

 

[EddieValiant]

We will be driving to WDW next month from Ontario- first time driving. On our way down we will be taking the I75 route, but have to take 79/77/95 on the way back to deliver our daughter to school. Tell me about tolls. I hear many routes require/use transponders now? What does everyone do? (for both routes please)

90 in New York State is entirely cashless now. You will pay the highest if you toll by mail, lower if you have EZPass from another state, and the lowest if your EZPass is a New York one.
https://www.thruway.ny.gov/travelers/tolls/schedules/index.html

 

[Questforthemouse]

We will be driving to WDW next month from Ontario- first time driving. On our way down we will be taking the I75 route, but have to take 79/77/95 on the way back to deliver our daughter to school. Tell me about tolls. I hear many routes require/use transponders now? What does everyone do? (for both routes please)

On the way home you will not pay a toll until just north of Princeton, WV on the I-77. That toll will be $4.25 cash. You will then pay a .75 cent toll when you leave the I-77 just north of Beckley, WV to get on the US19 through Summersville. The New York Thurway (I-90) toll will be mailed to you (30-45 days after you use it and can be paid online). When you cross at the Peace Bridge it is currently $10.25 Canadian.

On the way down you will pay about $8.00 US after you cross the Ambassador bridge. There are no tolls on I-75. You will pay a toll for the Florida Turnpike but again that will be mailed to you (if they actually mail the invoice to you, sometimes they do not).

 

[bankr63]

For ease of use you can't beat SunPass Pro linked above (or any State EZPass now).

We upgraded before our March trip and it was great. We were able to use the express lanes along the I-4 or detour on the 417 around Orlando, we used it for the express lanes through Charlotte, and it was accepted for the bridge tolls at Thousand Islands Bridge. The reduction in tolls for transponder use covered the cost of the actual transponder fairly quickly. It was easy to order online, and arrived in a bit more than a week (even during COVID). The postage on the package was around US$12, (delivery included in the cost) so they aren't making any money on this!

The selling point for us was being stuck in slow traffic through Charlotte on the Sunday drive home and being able to slip into the nearly empty express lanes. Zipping past all that traffic was priceless!

 

[cslittle999]

For ease of use you can't beat SunPass Pro linked above (or any State EZPass now).

We upgraded before our March trip and it was great. We were able to use the express lanes along the I-4 or detour on the 417 around Orlando, we used it for the express lanes through Charlotte, and it was accepted for the bridge tolls at Thousand Islands Bridge. The reduction in tolls for transponder use covered the cost of the actual transponder fairly quickly. It was easy to order online, and arrived in a bit more than a week (even during COVID). The postage on the package was around US$12, (delivery included in the cost) so they aren't making any money on this!

The selling point for us was being stuck in slow traffic through Charlotte on the Sunday drive home and being able to slip into the nearly empty express lanes. Zipping past all that traffic was priceless!

Getting through Charlotte is one of our reasons for getting too. We'll be going through Charlotte on a Thursday around 6 pm. I had no desire to be in the other lanes. It will be $15 well spent.

We have to pick some people up at MCO. That you can charge the parking to SunPass Pro as well is a bonus. We'll easily pay for the transponder on this trip alone.

 

[maiapapaya]

Thanks so much for all of the answers. Will definitely look into the Sun Pass-pro!

 

[starvenger]

Not sure if the New York EZ Pass costs anything, but I signed up for one as I'm planning a 3 ballparks (Comerica Park, Progressive Field, Sahlen Field) in 3 cities in 3 days road trip and there are tolls in Ohio and New York that tack on service fees if you go through without a proper transponder/tag. It also works with the Peace Bridge and Niagara Falls Bridges.

But it does look like EZ Pass is not active in Georgia. That's kind of a big deal.

You have the option of pre-loading $25 (which I did not do) or linking to a direct debit with credit card backup (which I did do).

 

[Mikey15]

Not sure if the New York EZ Pass costs anything, but I signed up for one as I'm planning a 3 ballparks (Comerica Park, Progressive Field, Sahlen Field) in 3 cities in 3 days road trip and there are tolls in Ohio and New York that tack on service fees if you go through without a proper transponder/tag. It also works with the Peace Bridge and Niagara Falls Bridges.

NY doesn't charge for the EZ Pass itself, but it was $25 for a starting prepaid balance on the account. Once it dips below... $10? I think... it will charge my credit card and top the account up by an "average monthly use."

I bit the bullet now that I-90's cashless. That's my most frequent toll road usage, though occasionally to & from Chicago area as well. And now that I have it it will be coming with me down to FL where it may see some 429 use.

 

[starvenger]

NY doesn't charge for the EZ Pass itself, but it was $25 for a starting prepaid balance on the account. Once it dips below... $10? I think... it will charge my credit card and top the account up by an "average monthly use."

There's an option for a direct debit with a credit card backup so that you don't have to carry a balance or top up. I went with that. Tricky part was setting up the Routing Number since we're set up differently with Bank and Account numbers, but after some research I figured that out.

 

[KNovacovschi]

Thanks so much for all of the answers. Will definitely look into the Sun Pass-pro!

I definitely would, it's only $14.95 US and refillable. We just drove last week and just purchased the regular sunpass when we arrived in Florida, we tend to take the route that avoids tolls as it only adds an hour or so onto the drive, but wish we had purchased the pro one since my husband decided to do the tolls on the way home. We had 2 tolls we had to pay exact change, one was $4.25 and another was $0.75 but I can't remember for the life of me which states we were in and the ones further north were automatic and send you a bill.

 

[maiapapaya]

There's an option for a direct debit with a credit card backup so that you don't have to carry a balance or top up. I went with that. Tricky part was setting up the Routing Number since we're set up differently with Bank and Account numbers, but after some research I figured that out.

I tried setting it up for the PPT and it kept saying my routing number was invalid - it is 9 digits long and i double checked it on my banking page. I called and they said they will only accept an American bank account?

 

[damo]

I definitely would, it's only $14.95 US and refillable. We just drove last week and just purchased the regular sunpass when we arrived in Florida, we tend to take the route that avoids tolls as it only adds an hour or so onto the drive, but wish we had purchased the pro one since my husband decided to do the tolls on the way home. We had 2 tolls we had to pay exact change, one was $4.25 and another was $0.75 but I can't remember for the life of me which states we were in and the ones further north were automatic and send you a bill.

There is $0.75 one just past Beckley as you get onto Rte. 19.

 

[starvenger]

I tried setting it up for the PPT and it kept saying my routing number was invalid - it is 9 digits long and i double checked it on my banking page. I called and they said they will only accept an American bank account?

The Canadian bank/branch number needs to be added to the routing number like so:

0 + 3-digit bank number + 5-digit branch number.

You should then be able to add the account number.

 

[Mikey15]

That does make 9 digits like an ABA routing, but the Canadian and US banking systems don’t normally talk to each other like that. This really worked for payment?

 

[starvenger]

That does make 9 digits like an ABA routing, but the Canadian and US banking systems don’t normally talk to each other like that. This really worked for payment?

It was accepted (see the link below), but I haven't tried this out yet. I did add a credit card as backup so it should, in theory, charge that if the ABA routing fails.

I will be trying this in about 2 weeks. Will report back then.

You can use this website to determine your routing number