Urgent question for Western New Yorkers!
September 6, 2024 5:07 PM Subscribe
I'm doing a road trip in Western New York and I realized that I'll encounter some toll roads in the next few days, in the area between Ithaca and Niagara Falls. Will I be able to pay cash at those toll stops? Hertz wants me to pay freaking $28 per day (plus tolls) to use their toll transponder. Help!
That's it for the question. I'm happy to wait in a longer cash line at any toll stop. I just am worried it might be a transponder-only situation. I need this info for when I'm going west, and then again for when I'm coming back east.
Please help me save $28 per day (and also they're cagey about whether they're gonna charge me for the entire length of my rental, not just the days I use the transponder). They're also mega lousy to get ahold of -- completely impossible to reach the local rental office, and the folks at the 800 number speak poor English and are clearly only reading from a script; they cannot deviate or do any research into this for me beyond saying "$27.99 per day." Yikes.
That's it for the question. I'm happy to wait in a longer cash line at any toll stop. I just am worried it might be a transponder-only situation. I need this info for when I'm going west, and then again for when I'm coming back east.
Please help me save $28 per day (and also they're cagey about whether they're gonna charge me for the entire length of my rental, not just the days I use the transponder). They're also mega lousy to get ahold of -- completely impossible to reach the local rental office, and the folks at the 800 number speak poor English and are clearly only reading from a script; they cannot deviate or do any research into this for me beyond saying "$27.99 per day." Yikes.
when I drove through there in July, there were cash booths, but none were open only transponder. They did advertise how to pay online, But I’m not sure if you can pay online if you’re using a rental car. The New York State tollway seems to have a decent website. You may want to go on there and try to call or email them. They might have another idea for you.
posted by dstopps at 5:22 PM on September 6
posted by dstopps at 5:22 PM on September 6
I just travelled there over the weekend (I-90 from Buffalo to Pennsylvania). You don't pay anything at the time, there's no ability to pay, and you can pay by a website later on:
https://www.tollsbymailny.com/en/home/index.shtml
It lets you plan for a future trip as well so check the site out.
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 5:23 PM on September 6
https://www.tollsbymailny.com/en/home/index.shtml
It lets you plan for a future trip as well so check the site out.
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 5:23 PM on September 6
If you let them capture the licence plate and invoice Hertz afterwards, they will likely process it and tack on an obscene fee.
posted by dum spiro spero at 5:39 PM on September 6 [4 favorites]
posted by dum spiro spero at 5:39 PM on September 6 [4 favorites]
AFAIK nope, there are no longer any cash options. Take their transponder, put it in the fancy opaque bag that came with your transponder, and replace it with your transponder.
posted by Melismata at 5:45 PM on September 6
posted by Melismata at 5:45 PM on September 6
Can you borrow an EZ Pass from a local? It would be cheaper for sure.
posted by computech_apolloniajames at 5:51 PM on September 6 [1 favorite]
posted by computech_apolloniajames at 5:51 PM on September 6 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: I don't have my own transponder; my state uses a different system. I have nobody local to borrow from. And yeah, I don't think I'll do the pre-register thing because I'm not at all convinced this won't end up with me getting double-billed via Hertz. :(
posted by BlahLaLa at 5:57 PM on September 6
posted by BlahLaLa at 5:57 PM on September 6
Best answer: Don't use the windshield mounted transponder or their silly $28 all inclusive tolls thing. Leave the little thingy closed. Then you end up using plate pass instead. That costs you toll fees plus $9.99 for any day you incur a fee (not every day of the rental just the days you cross a toll booth). Then you go to plate pass after your rental and pay the fee separate from hertz. (you can setup an account with same info as hertz account and then it will just autopay).
posted by chasles at 6:01 PM on September 6 [3 favorites]
posted by chasles at 6:01 PM on September 6 [3 favorites]
I bought a cheap unipass transponder via amazon - $15 and covers 19 states including New York. Then I set and set up an account with the florida system. Florida because there is no annual fee - it is lowest cost option for an account you very rarely use.
When i got the airport, I logged onto the account and added the license plate for the rental car. Worked great except that i accidentally left the transponder in the rental car when I returned it. Basically for a cost of one day of the rental car fee I avoided any excess charges. Just make sure to keep the door for rental transponder closed so you don't get charged twice.
posted by metahawk at 6:26 PM on September 6 [5 favorites]
When i got the airport, I logged onto the account and added the license plate for the rental car. Worked great except that i accidentally left the transponder in the rental car when I returned it. Basically for a cost of one day of the rental car fee I avoided any excess charges. Just make sure to keep the door for rental transponder closed so you don't get charged twice.
posted by metahawk at 6:26 PM on September 6 [5 favorites]
If it's really just the stretch of 90 between [whateverville north of Ithaca] and the Clarence exit and not knowing how the tolls will get dealt with is kinda chapping your ass, you can avoid it easily enough. That stretch of 86 and 390 is a lovely drive, and if you find you're ahead of schedule Letchworth is a nice little baby canyon. I can't speak for 20A that far east but at least a few miles past East Aurora it's a very pleasant country drive.
That stretch of 90 is just Standard Issue Interstate.
90 / 190 / 290 are all toll-free in the Buffalo/Niagara area between the Clarence / Transit Rd exit and... ugh, I'd have to check but I think the Lackawanna exit.
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 6:39 PM on September 6 [3 favorites]
That stretch of 90 is just Standard Issue Interstate.
90 / 190 / 290 are all toll-free in the Buffalo/Niagara area between the Clarence / Transit Rd exit and... ugh, I'd have to check but I think the Lackawanna exit.
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 6:39 PM on September 6 [3 favorites]
@chasles, the $9.99 daily fee is what you pay if you literally don't do anything. $9.99 the days you have fees + tolls. i'd probably do that or get the transponder from an ez pass (east cost or midwest state). Most states dont really cost anything other than a deposit.
posted by sandmanwv at 6:42 PM on September 6
posted by sandmanwv at 6:42 PM on September 6
Response by poster: (This driving is happening tomorrow, so I don't have time to order any kind of transponder.)
posted by BlahLaLa at 6:52 PM on September 6
posted by BlahLaLa at 6:52 PM on September 6
This is working on the assumption that you are starting in Ithaca, ending in Buffalo, and are more concerned with avoiding tolls than with other factors.
Take Route 13 south out of Ithaca, towards Elmira. If you are in downtown Ithaca, it is the main southbound drag, and you will have opportunities to see signs directing you towards Elmira. As you approach Elmira, you will see signs for Route 17/Interstate 86. Get yourself westbound on this highway (both numbers refer to the same highway for our purposes here.)
You can follow this until you drive by a small village called Bath. Shortly after passing Bath, the highway splits in two, west bound and Rochester bound. Either works but I will assume you continue on the Rochester bound route, 390. Keep going on 390 (it’s just the highway splitting in two at the point I mention here.) You will pass into Livingston County and eventually come towards Geneseo. If you get off at Geneseo, you should easily find route 20A, which is mostly a high speed normal road rather than a highway and which will, if you stay on it, take you all the way to Erie County in which Buffalo is located. At that point, it really depends on where in Buffalo you are trying to go.
There are no tolls on this route, and while it may take more time than. 100% highway driving, I’m not sure that it’s excessive if you’re just looking for a fun trip, and I think it’s more scenic than all highway between those points and as direct a nonhighway route as reasonably plausible. There are other good routes in my opinion but this one is reasonably direct and easy to describe in my opinion. (If I wake up tomorrow and realize I have a confusing description, I blame the fact that I’ve been awake longer than I would like, but there we are.)
posted by Whale Oil at 7:24 PM on September 6 [4 favorites]
Take Route 13 south out of Ithaca, towards Elmira. If you are in downtown Ithaca, it is the main southbound drag, and you will have opportunities to see signs directing you towards Elmira. As you approach Elmira, you will see signs for Route 17/Interstate 86. Get yourself westbound on this highway (both numbers refer to the same highway for our purposes here.)
You can follow this until you drive by a small village called Bath. Shortly after passing Bath, the highway splits in two, west bound and Rochester bound. Either works but I will assume you continue on the Rochester bound route, 390. Keep going on 390 (it’s just the highway splitting in two at the point I mention here.) You will pass into Livingston County and eventually come towards Geneseo. If you get off at Geneseo, you should easily find route 20A, which is mostly a high speed normal road rather than a highway and which will, if you stay on it, take you all the way to Erie County in which Buffalo is located. At that point, it really depends on where in Buffalo you are trying to go.
There are no tolls on this route, and while it may take more time than. 100% highway driving, I’m not sure that it’s excessive if you’re just looking for a fun trip, and I think it’s more scenic than all highway between those points and as direct a nonhighway route as reasonably plausible. There are other good routes in my opinion but this one is reasonably direct and easy to describe in my opinion. (If I wake up tomorrow and realize I have a confusing description, I blame the fact that I’ve been awake longer than I would like, but there we are.)
posted by Whale Oil at 7:24 PM on September 6 [4 favorites]
Response by poster: Whale Oil, thank you. I'm actually going from Ithaca to Niagara Falls, then Niagara to Corning. I'd love any advice you have for that route.
posted by BlahLaLa at 7:28 PM on September 6 [1 favorite]
posted by BlahLaLa at 7:28 PM on September 6 [1 favorite]
This link in Google Maps shows a route without tolls — Ithaca to Niagara Falls to Corning. It adds about 20 miles and bit less than an hour to your trip compared to the fastest route.
If you look just below the list of destinations, click on 'Options' and you'll see 'Route Options'. Toggle the 'Tolls' box to see the routes with and without tolls.
posted by theory at 7:55 PM on September 6 [3 favorites]
If you look just below the list of destinations, click on 'Options' and you'll see 'Route Options'. Toggle the 'Tolls' box to see the routes with and without tolls.
posted by theory at 7:55 PM on September 6 [3 favorites]
"I'm actually going from Ithaca to Niagara Falls, then Niagara to Corning. I'd love any advice you have for that route."
Whale Oil's route takes you through Corning, so you could take the same route back.
You could also go north out of Ithaca to Auburn and then take Route 20 east to very close to Buffalo and then zig zag up to Niagara Falls. That's a nice route, because you go through a bunch of towns near the finger lakes. Geneva is neat.
Getting on the 190 in Buffalo is the typical way to get to Niagara Falls, but there's a toll on Grand Island (no toll booths). You can go around Grand Island by getting to Amherst and heading up Niagara Falls blvd.
posted by jonathanhughes at 8:10 PM on September 6 [4 favorites]
Whale Oil's route takes you through Corning, so you could take the same route back.
You could also go north out of Ithaca to Auburn and then take Route 20 east to very close to Buffalo and then zig zag up to Niagara Falls. That's a nice route, because you go through a bunch of towns near the finger lakes. Geneva is neat.
Getting on the 190 in Buffalo is the typical way to get to Niagara Falls, but there's a toll on Grand Island (no toll booths). You can go around Grand Island by getting to Amherst and heading up Niagara Falls blvd.
posted by jonathanhughes at 8:10 PM on September 6 [4 favorites]
If I were you I'd just take a non-toll route; New York is beautiful to drive through. This won't help for tomorrow's drive *, but in case you don't want to take a scenic route on the way back or if you have future trips through other EZ pass states:
You can purchase a NY state EZ pass at a local store in Ithaca or wherever you are passing through, register online or by phone, then close your account when you get home. There's a $25 cost for the transponder that's applied to your account, plus $1 monthly maintenance, then it would just be any additional tolls you use on this trip. You have to return the transponder to close the account so consider that cost but you do get any balance on your account refunded. Register your own plates, not the rental's. They say to always use the velcro strips to mount the transponder but I just hold mine up in the right spot and have only had a failure to read once.
general EZ Pass info
* the transponder is ready for use the day after it's registered
posted by bunnysquirrel at 9:40 PM on September 6 [2 favorites]
You can purchase a NY state EZ pass at a local store in Ithaca or wherever you are passing through, register online or by phone, then close your account when you get home. There's a $25 cost for the transponder that's applied to your account, plus $1 monthly maintenance, then it would just be any additional tolls you use on this trip. You have to return the transponder to close the account so consider that cost but you do get any balance on your account refunded. Register your own plates, not the rental's. They say to always use the velcro strips to mount the transponder but I just hold mine up in the right spot and have only had a failure to read once.
general EZ Pass info
* the transponder is ready for use the day after it's registered
posted by bunnysquirrel at 9:40 PM on September 6 [2 favorites]
Yes, the route I described takes you directly by Corning, so you either could backtrack the same way or stop there on your way to the Buffalo area if you so choose.
posted by Whale Oil at 5:31 AM on September 7
posted by Whale Oil at 5:31 AM on September 7
Response by poster: Okay, I hate that this is all so fiddly. I want to be able to enjoy my vacation, and do my planned routes + leisurely wandering without having to stress about toll roads, dammit! So I've followed the links chasles added and I'm going to try the Plate Pass method. Their website does recognize/link me to my Hertz rental, though it doesn't let me preregister. I will look again tonight after we've incurred a toll and see if it'll let me pay it then. Fingers crossed.
posted by BlahLaLa at 6:19 AM on September 7
posted by BlahLaLa at 6:19 AM on September 7
If you end up on a toll road and you see the sign threatening you that you must register with the transportation department by calling a number that starts with ** or you will be severely penalized don't worry about it. I tried it repeatedly and either it didn't like my Bell cell phone plan, my Canadian number, my car's phone interface or something else because I was never able to get through.
I ended up getting my invoice (actually two invoices--one for my outbound trip this summer and one for use of the state's highway heading home) in the mail with the option to send them a payment by mail or pay via credit card.
posted by sardonyx at 8:15 AM on September 7
I ended up getting my invoice (actually two invoices--one for my outbound trip this summer and one for use of the state's highway heading home) in the mail with the option to send them a payment by mail or pay via credit card.
posted by sardonyx at 8:15 AM on September 7
Google maps offers a "no tool" option for Ithaca to Niagara Falls. 30 minutes more than the thruway.
posted by bluefrog at 10:11 AM on September 7
posted by bluefrog at 10:11 AM on September 7
I used an Avis rental in Rochester last year and they explained tolls to me on pick up. I ended up being charged under $30 for 5 days of tolls and I estimate it was the right amount. Can you switch to Avis?
posted by soelo at 2:10 PM on September 7
posted by soelo at 2:10 PM on September 7
Best answer: Ok so when I got back in the rental car, I saw that the transponder had a QR code on it...which led me to a much clearer explanation of the various options. We did indeed choose 9.99/day + all tolls. I think it'll be much less expensive than the other option, and certainly more convenient than trying to track down a proper transponder on my own.
And then as we drove west today, I got a goddamn speeding ticket in one of those fiddly dumb towns where the speed limit immediately drops and they're just lying in wait for you. Goddamn it.
posted by BlahLaLa at 4:37 PM on September 7
And then as we drove west today, I got a goddamn speeding ticket in one of those fiddly dumb towns where the speed limit immediately drops and they're just lying in wait for you. Goddamn it.
posted by BlahLaLa at 4:37 PM on September 7
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posted by Ardnamurchan at 5:22 PM on September 6 [3 favorites]