ORLANDO, Fla. — Going on a long drive this holiday season? Does your destination have lots of toll roads?

The Central Florida Expressway Authority's new transponder, the E-Pass Xtra, could save you a bunch of time and money.

With the E-Pass Xtra, E-Pass customers can now use different toll agencies in several states without having to worry about having multiple transponders and getting billed multiple times.

"My mom lives up in Pennsylvania, and she has an E-Z Pass for travel up north on the Pennsylvania Turnpike,” Expressway Authority spokesperson Brian Hutchings said. “And she has an E-Pass for when she comes down to visit us in Orlando. So she has one vehicle but different accounts that she uses."

He added, “So for the E-Pass Xtra, this will make it really simple for her to have one transponder, one account, and use it all the way up and down the East Coast."

The E-Pass Xtra really is designed to accommodate our millions of residents and visitors who frequently travel back and forth from the northeastern states. This new transponder will work in more than 18 states and includes seven other toll agencies.

CFX claims that nearly half of Florida's domestic visitors come from the mid-Atlantic, northeastern, and midwestern states, with about 50 percent traveling by car.

In fact, it's estimated that 35 million Americans drive to Florida from just the northeastern states alone.

CFX's new transponder marks a big step in getting the country closer toward interoperability regarding their toll systems. A federal law was passed, forcing nationwide interconnectivity by the end of 2016.

"I think it was a bit more daunting of a task than anybody could imagine,” Hutchings said. “But with E-Pass Xtra, this is a huge leap in that direction."

E-Pass Xtra drivers will manage one toll pass account for travel on all toll roads and most bridges throughout Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Maine, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Kentucky.

E-Pass Xtra costs $18.50 plus tax and requires an E-Pass account with a minimum of $10 in prepaid tolls.

Additional E-Pass Xtra features include:

  • No monthly account fees
  • A nonreplaceable battery that should last up to 8 years
  • Autopay parking at Orlando International Airport
  • Movable from car to car and works on motorcycles