topic Re: Sunshine Skyway Bridge, Florida...Cash Tolls or Electronic? in Travel

Sunshine Skyway Bridge, Florida...Cash Tolls or Electronic?

Lilysmom — Mon, 27 Mar 2017 17:36:25 GMT

Can you still pay cash here or has it gone electronic? Can't seem to find any info more current than a year ago. TIA? LM

Re: Sunshine Skyway Bridge, Florida...Cash Tolls or Electronic?

I am still oxox — Mon, 27 Mar 2017 17:50:39 GMT

I found a map and it indicated Sun Pass or Cash, I am not sure how old the map is but it was all I could fine

Re: Sunshine Skyway Bridge, Florida...Cash Tolls or Electronic?

FrostyBabe1 — Mon, 27 Mar 2017 17:53:53 GMT

You can still pay cash. I've gone over it several times in the last few weeks to get to Lightning games. It's $1.25 each way.

Re: Sunshine Skyway Bridge, Florida...Cash Tolls or Electronic?

Lilysmom — Mon, 27 Mar 2017 17:56:49 GMT

@FrostyBabe1 @I am still oxox Thanks so much. I appreciate the info. I am trying to decide whether to buy a transponder or not. It seems most of the toll roads are going electronic. LM

Re: Sunshine Skyway Bridge, Florida...Cash Tolls or Electronic?

I am still oxox — Mon, 27 Mar 2017 18:00:42 GMT

I am familar with the bridge we have stayed in Tampa and Sarasota and gone back and forth to Anna Maria Island for dinner, ahh still one of my most favorite places on earth

Re: Sunshine Skyway Bridge, Florida...Cash Tolls or Electronic?

FrostyBabe1 — Mon, 27 Mar 2017 18:04:31 GMT

@I am still oxox wrote:
I am familar with the bridge we have stayed in Tampa and Sarasota and gone back and forth to Anna Maria Island for dinner, ahh still one of my most favorite places on earth

You probably wouldn't want to be out on the island right now. There's waaaaaayyyyy too many people here. I did sit on my balcony and see a manatee swimming in the Gulf this morning, but it's terribly overcrowded.

Re: Sunshine Skyway Bridge, Florida...Cash Tolls or Electronic?

Lilysmom — Mon, 27 Mar 2017 18:12:02 GMT

@FrostyBabe1, does e-z pass work in Florida? LM

Re: Sunshine Skyway Bridge, Florida...Cash Tolls or Electronic?

FrostyBabe1 — Mon, 27 Mar 2017 20:10:26 GMT

@Lilysmom wrote:
@FrostyBabe1, does e-z pass work in Florida? LM

I don't know. I've never used it.

Re: Sunshine Skyway Bridge, Florida...Cash Tolls or Electronic?

gracie2014 — Mon, 27 Mar 2017 22:10:36 GMT

@FrostyBabe1 I use the e-z pass here in Florida, it also works in the area with the sunpass...at least in Central Florida....makes traveling much so much easier.

Re: Sunshine Skyway Bridge, Florida...Cash Tolls or Electronic?

gracie2014 — Mon, 27 Mar 2017 22:14:19 GMT

@Lilysmom You can use either, the electronic or cash. If you are going to use cash make sure to carry change...some of the tolls are not manned..those are the ones costing a quarter to fifty cents..Hope that helps.

Re: Sunshine Skyway Bridge, Florida...Cash Tolls or Electronic?

gracie2014 — Mon, 27 Mar 2017 22:20:18 GMT

@Lilysmom I am pretty sure you can purchase a sticker...no longer need the transponder.

Re: Sunshine Skyway Bridge, Florida...Cash Tolls or Electronic?

gracie2014 — Mon, 27 Mar 2017 22:22:04 GMT

@Lilysmom Yes, it works in Florida.

Re: Sunshine Skyway Bridge, Florida...Cash Tolls or Electronic?

FranandZoe — Tue, 28 Mar 2017 02:49:43 GMT

Cash works - we were just in FLA last week and week before. When you rent a car at Tampa Airport they push the Sun Pass - would have you think that cash is not accepted.

Re: Sunshine Skyway Bridge, Florida...Cash Tolls or Electronic?

Lilysmom — Tue, 28 Mar 2017 10:59:39 GMT

@FranandZoe @gracie2014 et al, thanks for this. We usually use cash at the tolls but I read somewhere they are phasing out cash.

We are travelling from Tampa Airport to Venice area. I know from @FrostyBabe1 and @I am still oxox that I can get over the Sunshine Skyway Bridge with cash.

We are planning to go near Fort Myers as well. I know there is a toll there. Can I use cash I wonder?

I would like to buy e-z pass if we can move it from vehicle to vehicle as we travel annually in the northeast as well ... Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts area.

The car rental companies are really pushing these electronic passes but they way overcharge for use. If we decide not to use that, we have to decline at the rental kiosk.

So, two questions. 1. Can we decline use in Florida and pay cash? Secondly, if we buy e-z pass can we use it in northeast and Florida as well?

Thanks in advance! LM

Re: Sunshine Skyway Bridge, Florida...Cash Tolls or Electronic?

FrostyBabe1 — Tue, 28 Mar 2017 12:12:56 GMT

@Lilysmom, you can certainly decline the use of the electronic pass when you pick up your rental car and just pay cash. I do it all the time. If you're only going to go over the Skyway on your way to-from the airport it'll be significantly cheaper. The last I recall, Avis charged a $3 per day convenience fee, plus the actual tolls incurred. I rent for upwards of 5-6 weeks at a time when I'm in Florida, so paying cash is definitely the right choice for me for the few times I go over the bridge.

If if you haven't purchased your airfare yet, have you checked into flying into Sarasota rather than Tampa? It's much closer to Venice and you can avoid the Skyway altogether.

Re: Sunshine Skyway Bridge, Florida...Cash Tolls or Electronic?

Lilysmom — Tue, 28 Mar 2017 13:56:59 GMT

@FrostyBabe1, I really appreciate the feedback. The flight schedule to Tampa is better for us. We can fly direct. We have travelled this route for many years. I used to fly into Ft. Myers but the connections from my home airport are limited and if you get into a weather situation, there are not many alternatives to Fort Myers. Although a little longer drive, we prefer Tampa for those reasons.

I am happy to hear that we can still use cash at the tolls. The rental car companies, as you know, are notorious for markup. Their rate to use their pass is either 4 or 5$ per toll to a maximum of $20 per week I think.

I am going to look at buying an e-z pass I think. More for the northeast than Florida. Some times it seems like there is a toll every ten miles in Maine/New Hampshire.

Thanks again for the feedback. LM

Re: Sunshine Skyway Bridge, Florida...Cash Tolls or Electronic?

FranandZoe — Fri, 31 Mar 2017 23:49:19 GMT

We drove to Ft. Myers a few years ago - don't remember the details of the tolls but I know we've always used cash.

Re: Sunshine Skyway Bridge, Florida...Cash Tolls or Electronic?

Lilysmom — Wed, 12 Apr 2017 10:38:36 GMT

Thanks everyone for your replies. Just back from Florida. Paid cash on Sunshine Skyway. Went to Ft. Myers but encountered no tolls. No charges for use of the transponder. LM

Re: Sunshine Skyway Bridge, Florida...Cash Tolls or Electronic?

VaBelle35 — Wed, 12 Apr 2017 15:31:43 GMT

I have a Virginia EZ Pass and it does not work in Florida.

When I went to Florida for a wedding, we rented a car and because I couldn't use my EZ Pass transponder in Florida, I purchased a Sun Pass online before I left and declined the Sun Pass through the rental car agency.

I used the Sun Pass to travel from Miami to Key West and back. I returned the Sun Pass and got a refund after.

Re: Sunshine Skyway Bridge, Florida...Cash Tolls or Electronic?

Lilysmom — Wed, 12 Apr 2017 21:45:06 GMT

@VaBelle35, interesting! We rent from Budget usually and did this trip. I told DH who collected the car to decline the transponder. They absolutely said no way. There was no ability to refuse.

As stated in my earlier report, we only paid cash at Sunshine Skyway and never used any other tolls so it was not an issue.

That is not what they told me when I called Budget before we left. They said we could decline. Not so at the counter. LM