Toll Roads and FasTrak in Southern California with a Rental Car (2026)
Updated October 30, 2026 · By Yaniv Segal, RentCarUSA
In short: In Los Angeles itself, almost all roads are free. Tolls appear in two places: The Toll Roads in Orange County (Routes 73, 133, 241 and 261), where you can pay online by license plate number within five days, and the Express Lanes (on I‑10, I‑110, I‑405 in Orange County and Route 91), where a FasTrak transponder is required. If you are not sure, set "Avoid tolls" in your navigation app and you pay nothing.
Where are there tolls in Southern California?
Visitors are often surprised by how few tolls there are in the area. There are no toll booths and no cash; everything is electronic. These are the places where you will meet a toll:
| Road / lane | Where | Transponder needed? | How to pay without a transponder |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Toll Roads: Routes 73, 133, 241, 261 | Orange County, about 51 miles between Newport, Irvine and Laguna | No | On TheTollRoads.com or in the app, by license plate number, up to 5 days after the trip |
| Metro ExpressLanes on I‑110 | Between Downtown Los Angeles and the south of the city | Yes | No advance payment. A "Pay As You Go" notice is sent to the car's owner: the toll plus a $9 processing fee |
| Metro ExpressLanes on I‑10 | Between Downtown and the east (toward El Monte) | Yes | As on I‑110 |
| 405 Express Lanes | Orange County, between Costa Mesa (Route 73) and I‑605 | Yes | The charge goes to the car's owner |
| 91 Express Lanes | Between Orange County and Riverside | Yes | The charge goes to the car's owner |
| I‑15 Express Lanes | North San Diego County, and separately also in the Corona area | Yes, for a solo driver | The charge goes to the car's owner |
On a trip north, the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco also charges an electronic-only toll, in the direction into the city. The details are in Route 1 from Los Angeles to San Francisco.
What is the difference between a carpool lane and an Express Lane?
This is where most visitors make mistakes. A regular carpool lane (HOV), marked with a white diamond and a "CARPOOL" sign, is completely free if there are enough people in the car, and you do not need any transponder. An Express Lane looks almost the same, but next to it there are electronic signs with a price and the text "FasTrak Only".
On the Los Angeles ExpressLanes, every car needs a transponder, even when it has several people inside. Drivers use a FasTrak Flex transponder and set a switch to the number of people in the car (1, 2 or 3+). According to Metro, on I‑110 a car with two or more people travels free at all hours. On I‑10, a car with three or more people always travels free, and a car with two people pays at peak hours. On the 405 Express Lanes, three or more people travel free, and two people pay at peak hours. But without a correctly set transponder, the system treats the car as a car with a solo driver, and if there is no transponder at all, a violation notice is sent.
So the rule for a rental car is simple: if there is no FasTrak Flex transponder in the car, do not enter the Express Lanes, even when there are five people in the car. You may drive in regular carpool lanes.
How do you pay for The Toll Roads in a rental car? Step by step
Route 73 is a common shortcut on the way to Laguna Beach and San Diego, and Route 241 appears in navigation to the Irvine and Mission Viejo area. If you used them:
- Write down the car's license plate number and state on the day of pickup, for example in a photo on your phone.
- Go to The Toll Roads website or app, and choose a one-time payment or register a rental car for a period.
- Enter the license plate number and the travel dates, and pay by credit card. You can pay from five days before the trip up to five days after it.
- Keep the confirmation. If a charge also comes through the rental company, the confirmation will help you dispute it.
Please note: according to The Toll Roads, trips made before you registered the car may be charged through the rental company. So, if you know in advance that you will drive on these roads, it is better to register the car before the first trip.
What happens if I did not pay?
The charge notice is sent to the registered owner of the car, which is the rental company. Almost all rental companies in the USA run their own toll program: they pay the toll and charge your card the toll amount, usually at the highest rate without a discount, plus a service fee of a few dollars for each day on which you used a toll road, usually with a maximum per rental. The charge can arrive weeks after you returned the car.
Tolls are not included in our rental price, and neither are tickets. In a one-month rental, one trip on Route 73 that was not paid on time can cost more than the toll itself, so it is better to pay yourself. At pickup, ask whether the car has a transponder and how the toll program works for that car.
How do you simply avoid tolls?
- In Google Maps or Waze, select "Avoid tolls" in the route settings. For trips within Los Angeles, the time difference is usually small.
- To San Diego and the Orange County beaches, drive on I‑405 and I‑5. There are no tolls at all on this route, and the difference compared with Route 73 is usually only a few minutes. There are details in San Diego and the Southern California coast in a day trip.
- On the freeway, watch for signs with changing prices above the left lane. This is a sign of an Express Lane, and if you do not have a transponder, stay out of it.
- Driving to Las Vegas? On the usual route from Los Angeles to Las Vegas (I‑10 or the 210, then I‑15 north) there are no tolls. Read about the route itself in From Los Angeles to Las Vegas by rental car.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a trip on Route 73 cost?
The price changes by section, time of day and payment method, and it is usually a few dollars per trip. The Toll Roads website has a calculator that shows the exact price before you leave.
Can I buy FasTrak for the length of my stay?
Residents open a FasTrak account and add cars to it, but for a visitor on a one-month rental it is usually not worth the effort. If you still consider it, make sure the rental car is not charged twice, also through the company's own transponder.
Can I drive alone in a carpool lane at night?
Only if the sign shows hours of operation and the time is outside them. On most carpool lanes in Los Angeles, the rule applies 24 hours a day, so read the sign before you enter.
Want a car for a month with full coverage, taxes included and unlimited miles? Get a quote. For general information, see the guide to monthly car rental in Los Angeles, and for driving rules, see Driving in Los Angeles for visitors.