Hertz adds e-tag option for Sydney hire cars

Driving a rental car in any new city while trying to get to meetings and keep appointments can be stressful enough without the added hassle of worrying about tolls. That's especially true in cities like Sydney where an increasing number of tolls roads have cancelled the cash option and require electronic tags for payment.

Hertz and Roam Express have come up with a solution for visitors to Sydney: the option to rent an electronic e-PASS tag for your hire car.

According to Roam Express’ operations manager, Danielle Griffin, the new Rental e-PASS works on all of Sydney’s tollroads, eliminating the need to arrange your own e-tag in advance.

The new system will undoubtedly appeal to regional and interstate travellers who are driving in Sydney for short periods of time and need an e-PASS to get around.

Currently there are some minor fees attached to using the Rental e-PASS system. There's a one-off 'start-up' fee of $2.75 applied by Roam Express, and users have to pay a 75c premium on top of every toll because the system requires manual video matching of your vehicle numberplate to the photo taken by the toll camera.

The system is similar to Roam Express’ current Visitor’s e-PASS, which offers the same functionality and can be applied for and administered online, althought it has different charges associated with it.