The Ohio Turnpike Construction Certainty Paradox (Toledo to Cedar Point)

It doesn't seem to matter what part of the turnpike I travel it's always orange barrel city somewhere. I do prefer it for long trips for the ease of just getting on and not having to do a lot of lane swapping because of exit only lanes and stuff like with other routes and I like having the rest stops and knowing what to expect. Last weekend I took the turnpike east to Pittsburgh as part of a larger trip we make yearly and while going eastward the change in the toll plaza arrangement didn't cause any issues for us not having EZ pass but on the way home going westward traffic was at almost a standstill trying to get through the 1st toll plaza no matter what lane people were in. One of the lanes kept closing and reopening and instead of getting the ticket like usual they collected $4 from everyone with no advance notice before getting to the plaza and then we had to stop a 2nd time at the new plaza to get the ticket to turn in at the gate when we got to our exit. I'm not really sure how this was an improvement instead of everyone going through a plaza once people with EZ pass went through one plaza and a set of cameras and everyone else had to go through 2 toll plazas. So as a non EZ pass driver I had to stop 1 time more than previously and pay$3 more in tolls than I had in the past or for a longer time on the turnpike coming from the opposite direction. I knew it was going to be different but I was hoping for an improvement not just change.

Just get EZ Pass. Delaware, Illinois and Florida charge a onetime fee for the transponder along with $50 to put on it and from then on they will charge you $40 everytime your account becomes less then $10.

I can't imagine not having EZ Pass when I lived in Ohio. And you can't live in Central Florida without Sun Pass.

Even though we live very close to the Ohio Turnpike we rarely use it. Usually just when we are going to PA or WV with the exception of one short stretch between Elyria and North Olmsted but even that is rare and we seem to be in a different car every time. I'm under the impression that the transponder is attached to a specific vehicle, not just a person's account so that would mean multiple transponders between my husband and I for really not that much use.

You can move transponders from one vehicle to another. I use mine (the precursor to the Central Florida UNI) in my own car in Ohio plus in rentals when I fly to MCO. The only trick is that you have to remember to change the registration online when you turn in your rental car, otherwise you'll be gifting tolls to the next driver even if you keep the transponder.

Ask me how I know this....

For those going back and forth between FL and another covered state, I really like the UNI.

https://www.cfxway.com/uni/

What is the UNI thing? Florida says they accept the EZ pass on all toll roads.

You can share EZ-pass transponders.

Q: Can vehicles share an E-ZPass® transponder?
A: Transponders are not linked to one vehicle and can be moved. We ask that you add all vehicles to your account while in use to avoid any violations, and the device must be in the vehicle at the time of use. This can be updated online at www.ezpassoh.com or by calling (440) 971-2222.

https://www.ohioturnpike.or...0of%20use.

Was initially thinking that if you took your transponder out of your rental car, how would you still get charged? But then remembered some tolls are by license plate scans. If the rental car plate is still linked to your EZ Pass account, you would get charged when the next customer rents the vehicle. Ohio even mentions that issue:

Q: Can I use my E-ZPass® in a rental vehicle?
A: Transponders can be used in rental vehicles. All vehicles should be added to your account while in use to avoid any violations, be sure to remove rental vehicles when you turn them back in. Be advised you are responsible for tolls until the rental is removed from your account. This can be added and removed online at www.ezpassoh.com or by calling (440) 971-2222.

So if my husband and I have 4 vehicles we can just register those 4 vehicles to the tansponder and it works with whichever one we have the transponder in? Might be worth looking into that. I expect one more turnpike trip this year for my son's wedding.

Not quite. Each transponder is registered to one vehicle at a time. If you move it, you should also change the registration. But this takes maybe a minute.

Paisley:

So if my husband and I have 4 vehicles we can just register those 4 vehicles to the tansponder and it works with whichever one we have the transponder in?

My experience is yes. We have had 3 vehicles registered to one transponder for 5 years now. Have not had an issue with that.

From Ohio EZ pass website...

Q: Can vehicles share an E-ZPass® transponder?
A: Transponders are not linked to one vehicle and can be moved. We ask that you add all vehicles to your account while in use to avoid any violations, and the device must be in the vehicle at the time of use. This can be updated online at www.ezpassoh.com or by calling (440) 971-2222.

If you’re looking for another EZ Pass life hack, here's one: Ohio charges a monthly fee to maintain your account. However, I learned from a truck driver that if you get a Massachusetts EZ Pass instead, they don’t charge this monthly fee. This means that if you put $20 on your account and don’t use it regularly, your balance stays intact without being gradually reduced by fees. I tried this a few years ago, and I’m still using my Massachusetts EZ Pass today—even though I live west of Toledo. I even register the cars Ohio plates

Maintenance fees? Lame. I have a SunPass, which works with EZ-Pass. For two years now they've been running some kind of state-wide "toll relief" program, and the last three months we've put in $50 but been credited $160. So effectively, it's been free. And every time we get a tropical storm, it ends up being free for at least a week or two.

What's the point of charging tolls then?

You'd have to ask our genius governor.

Vater:

What's the point of charging tolls then?

The ever popular export your tax burden. :)

Socialism is bad except when it comes to helping hard working Floridians just trying to get to work.

Not sure if it's socialism ... more of an import tariff on driving.

Socialism is often a label applied by people looking for less government spending/power to any government spending/power such people do not like (independent of whether it actually applies to the given government spending/power). On the flip side, those who favor more government spending/power often accuse those who favor limited government spending/power as hypocritically supporting some socialism (again independent of whether the label actually applies) when limited government spending/power people support any government spending/power. As if its a binary choice between unlimited government spending/power and anarchy. Label isn't really helpful in either instance but being helpful isn't often the goal.

In the given instance, the State of Florida has a public highway system which is supported at least in part by tolls (form of use tax) paid by those who use the system (both directly and indirectly). Not sure that fits any of the typical definitions of socialism (but see above). Florida's governor gave a toll/tax break to residents of the State of Florida. Non-residents (as I understand the program) do not get the toll/tax break (but they don't get to vote for the governor of Florida). Exporting the tax burden. Whether it makes good sense as a pure policy matter for the State isn't clear to me. But as a matter of politics, history says it does. People love being given something (particularly if its "free" (whether that is actually the case though there are a very small number of things in life that are truly "free")). You see this concept at play in many instances.

I really only use it here because of DeSantis's rhetoric.

From what I understand they didn't actually replace the $500 million in toll revenue so they are just robbing Peter to pay Paul. DeSantis is essentially leaving this budget hole for someone else to fix because he can't run again in 2026.

There are actually a bunch of separate toll authorities around the state, and I think they're special districts that overlap other jurisdictions. To that end, most of the miles that are toll roads are not places tourists go. 408 and the recently completed 429 would rarely see tourists, as well as most of 417 east of the airport. The turnpike, I'm not sure, but the Orlando-Miami use case doesn't seem like a typical tourist thing. I guess my point is that it's more of a regressive tax on locals than it is leaning into tourists. Our license plates are pretty cheap, and we have no state or local income tax, but we've spent $720 on tolls in the last year.