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This past summer my wife and I took off for one of our “let’s see where we end up” drives with no specific destination. Gas prices were at an all time high so we did the sensible thing and drove all the way around Lake Ontario.  It was fun actually but we did end up taking a toll highway.  I remember my father telling us when we were younger that one of the “many” advantages that we had as Canadians was the fact that we didn’t have to pay tolls for our highways, they were paid via our (higher) taxes.  This was my first encounter with a toll highway so I was a bit nervous of just how much this was going to cost us.  We started on the I-90 just north of Syracuse and drove due west towards Buffalo.  There system is such that they give you a card (similar to an employee time card that you would punch in a clock) and when you exit, they calculate the toll.

When we exited, I had to pay $6.35 for the privilege of using the highway.  Not bad! Distance travelled 145 miles.
I don’t think that was bad because when I compare it to the new toll highway that runs through the north end of the GTA where I live…it is a bargain.

For you that are not familiar with the 407 highway in the Toronto, Ontario area, it is our first (most likely not our last) toll highway.  It was built as an “all-electronic” toll highway, relaying on transponders and electronic tracking to monitor movement and subsequently bill customers for using it.  In the beginning it seemed like a good idea.  I actually chose a place to live close to this new highway because I could get to work quickly and at a reasonable cost.  That was 10 years ago.  The government has since sold the highway to a foreign consortium and the rates for using the highway have skyrocketed.

If I compare the same trip we took across New York State to using the 407 ETR (Electronic Toll Route) this is what it would look like:

1.The 407 ETR relies on leased transponders to monitor movement and bill vehicle owners. A transponder is an electronic key that allows an overhead scanning bridge, located at each entry and exit point  to “read” the vehicle info and send a bill once a month to the owner.  In the absence of a transponder (as would be the case for a visitor, as we were to the I-90) there is a video trip charge added.  If there is no transponder, the scanning bridge has a camera that takes a picture of the vehicle and a bill is sent to the owner’s address.  So assuming that we DO NOT have a transponder we incur a charge of $3.25 as soon as we enter the highway.
2.There is now (effective January 1, 2009) an additional “trip charge” of $0.25 for using the highway as soon as you enter.
3.There is a “monthly account fee” of $2.50 for using the highway without a transponder.
4.The rates vary depending on the time of day but the standard rate is between $0.1925 and $0.1985 (per kilometre) depending on the “zone” that you are travelling in.  I will assume that we are going through more than one zone on our “trip” so will use an average of $0.1955 (per kilometre) for this exercise.  The entire highway at present spans only 67 miles so I have done some fancy extrapolations to arrive at my totals.  There are 1.60934 kilometres in one mile.

Assuming that we COULD drive 145 miles on the 407 ETR our bill would look like this:

1.$3.25 for no transponder
2.$0.25 trip fee
3.$2.50 account fee
4.145 miles converted is equivalent to 233 kilometres (233 x $0.1955 = $45.55)
5.Total for one trip of equivalent distance would be $51.55 (a difference of $45.20)

Welcome to Canada!  If you are American please check your gun AND wallet at the border.  Thank you!