Rental Cars Won't Need Transponders to Travel Through Sunpass Lanes

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., Sept. 27 -- Many rental car customers traveling on Florida's toll roads and bridges are now able to utilize 'SunPass Only' lanes to pay their tolls, even without a SunPass transponder, thanks to a pair of innovative programs announced by Turnpike officials this week.

Rental car customers in Central Florida also can use the EPass lanes on toll roads operated by the Orlando- Orange County Expressway Authority (OOCEA), and will soon be able to use the LeeWay toll lanes in Lee County.

Florida's Turnpike Enterprise has entered into contractual agreements with American Traffic Solutions and Rent A Toll, Ltd. to administer a program which utilizes license plate information to identify rental vehicles and electronically collect the toll.

American Traffic Solutions is currently offering its PlatePass(R) cashless toll payment service to rental car customers using vehicles rented from Avis, Budget, and Hertz. Rent A Toll will soon offer its Pass24 service to Dollar and Thrifty rental customers.

Enterprise, Alamo, and National have yet to sign up for the new rental car program but Turnpike officials are hopeful that they too will soon be part of the program.

The program became operational at all Avis, Budget and Hertz locations statewide on Sept. 24. Every Hertz, Avis and Budget vehicle has been enrolled in the PlatePass(R)system, regardless of the rental location. Vehicles rented in other states can travel to Florida and utilize the PlatePass(R) toll payment system. Dollar and Thrifty will follow in October.

Under the terms of the agreement with American Traffic Solutions, customers who rent cars from Avis, Budget and Hertz will pay daily fees of $2.00 to $2.50 plus actual toll usage. Every vehicle is pre-enrolled and no advanced commitment or contract is required for vehicle renters utilizing these agencies. The toll charges will be automatically paid by PlatePass(R) electronically. Charges will be billed to the renter's credit card utilized to rent the vehicle. The daily fee for PlatePass(R) will only apply for days when toll roads are actually used.

Under the Rent A Toll Pass24 pre-paid toll service with Dollar and Thrifty, customers will enjoy unlimited toll usage for a flat daily fee of $5.95 per rental day, or $27.95 weekly. All toll charges are included in the daily or weekly fee.

"This is exciting news," said Turnpike Chief Executive Officer Jim Ely. "This opens up the SunPass program and the benefits of electronic tolling to thousands more vehicles."

SunPass, the Florida Department of Transportation's version of electronic toll collection, was launched in 1999. Since the program's inception more than 3.5 million transponders have gone into circulation. SunPass customers enjoy the ease of not fumbling for change while taking advantage of numerous SunPass-only lanes throughout the Turnpike System.

SunPass may be purchased at any Publix or CVS Pharmacy, at the Turnpike service plazas, by calling 1-888-TOLL-FLA, or online at www.sunpass.com.

About American Traffic Solutions

American Traffic Solutions, Inc. (ATS) provides electronic toll collection services for rental car companies through its branded PlatePass(R) product. ATS is a leading provider of technology and business solutions that support electronic toll and traffic management programs worldwide. ATS' PlatePass(R) solution provides a unique, convenient, consumer offering to the rental car customer. The technology and service is built based on real-world experience providing toll violation processing solutions to some of the largest toll authorities in the United States. ATS provides state-of-the-art, turn-key vehicle detection and imaging technology designed and built specifically for photo traffic enforcement and image-based toll payment. The company was founded in 1992 and has provided some of the largest and most successful traffic safety and enforcement programs in the world, including New York City, Washington, DC, Philadelphia, Houston, Phoenix and Seattle and 100 other US cities. ATS operates or supports automated traffic safety and enforcement programs in Washington, California, Florida, Arizona, Colorado, Texas, Tennessee, Missouri, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New York, and Calgary Alberta Canada. For more information, visit www.PlatePass.com and www.atsol.com.

About Rent A Toll, Ltd.

Rent A Toll, Ltd., headquartered in Plano, Texas, is a privately held technology solutions provider in the travel and transportation industry. The company was founded in 2004 on the premise that every traveler's time is valuable, and that every traveler should have access to the express toll lanes. Rent A Toll has 14 patents pending in support of its technology. For additional information visit www.RentAToll.com.