The SunPass Mini, a cheaper, smaller alternative to the existing $25 transponder, will go on sale today.
It comes just in time for July Fourth, when many Floridians will hit the roads.
The Mini is a sticker tag about the size of a credit card. It costs $4.99 plus tax.
Once you stick the tag onto your windshield, you can’t move it to another vehicle. It will break if removed.
Another distinction: the tags won’t make sounds or light up when you go through a toll plaza to note a toll has been paid. Drivers instead will have to check their accounts online.
When you buy the sticker tag, you’ll get a $4.99 credit toward tolls, effectively making the tags free. New customers will be required to prepay $10 in tolls, considerably less than the $25 in prepaid tolls required for the bigger transponders, said turnpike spokeswoman Nichole Kalil.
Turnpike officials plan to announce the sale at a news conference this morning at the turnpike’s Pompano Beach service plaza.
Officials expect the cheaper tags to be popular with drivers who don’t use toll roads often or those who have held off buying SunPass because of the price.
Image-conscious drivers who don’t like the box-shaped transponders also may prefer the thinner greenish-gray tags, which officials say will blend into most windshields when viewed from the outside.
Officials hope to sell 600,000 sticker tags in the coming year, enough to push the number of drivers paying turnpike tolls electronically to 75 percent by December.
The older transponders will continue to be available for customers who prefer their light and sound options and their portability.
The sticker tags will be sold at Publix, at turnpike service plazas and at Navarro and Sedano pharmacies in Miami, Kalil said.
At this point, the sticker tags won’t be sold at CVS or on the SunPass Web site.
“We’re rolling this out in phases,” Kalil said. “As time goes on, we’ll be selling them at more locations.”
Michael Turnbell can be reached at or 954-356-4155.
