How much do you spend on toll roads?

**cooliemae** · 05-02-2015, 09:38 PM

We don't have any tolls in WI, but when we travel down to Chicago to visit family we end up paying about $7 to use the interstate from the border of IL to the west side of downtown.

I hate them....

**frugalredhead** · 05-03-2015, 05:35 PM

$1.40 a day where I am (70 cents each way). But yes, in NY tolls are insane. The GW Bridge is almost $12 now. When I drive home to NY to see my family (through Maryland, Delaware, and NJ) the tolls cost me about $30 each way. When we went to Long Island for my grandma's funeral in March, the tolls cost more than the gas since we had to go through NYC.

**creditcardfree** · 05-03-2015, 05:52 PM

No tolls in IA. I've found that some toll roads are often less crowded...which I actually like!

**disneysteve** · 05-03-2015, 06:23 PM

It really varies. Some months, I don't spend anything at all. Other months, I may spend $20 or $30. It just depends where we travel. I'm looking at my most recent EZPass statement. The past 2 months were on the costly side. From 2/24-4/23 we spent $49.95. It's usually less than that but I took a trip to Richmond, VA a few weeks ago which accounted for most of that.

**LizfromtheBronx** · 05-03-2015, 07:56 PM

I live in NYC, and drive to work every day from the Bronx to Manhattan. For several months, I was taking a route that went over a toll bridge in the morning (a free option exists but is much more congested - I was happy to pay for the slightly faster option). At $5.33 a day after my EZ Pass discount, it really started to add up, especially once I factored in gas and garage costs. I changed my route completely to a route that has no tolls.

Now, I probably spend $20-$30 a month - I have a new goddaughter, and to get to her I have to cross a bridge that has a $5.xx toll each way (recently increased, not sure of exact amount with discount). I try to get to see her every 7-10 days.

I recently drove my mother to Newark airport from our house in the Bronx, then went to work in Manhattan....picked her up a few days later (round trip from Bronx to Newark). The tolls alone cost me $35!!!! Sheesh.

**cooliemae** · 05-03-2015, 10:31 PM

The biggest thing that drives me crazy with tolls is the fact that not all of the money you pay for the toll is going to fix the road. Part is going to pay for the toll collection and another part is going to the company...of course this varies depending on the structure of the tolls.

The craziest thing I've ever heard with regard to tolls is the fact that Indiana bid out the maintenance of part of the Indiana Tollway. The company that was awarded the bid when bankrupt and now the road is 'owned' by an Australian company. It seems like a really odd way to fix/take care of our infrastructure.

Personally, I would rather pay my share of taxes to put people to work fixing the roads versus paying people to collect money to then pay people to fix the roads.

**bjl584** · 05-04-2015, 03:47 AM

Hardly anything. There aren't any toll roads that I use regularly. It's probably been several years since I've paid a toll.

**disneysteve** · 05-04-2015, 04:05 AM

It's funny but I never thought of tolls as being a regional thing but I guess they are. I grew up in Philadelphia and now live in New Jersey and tolls have just always been a standard thing. Bridges, turnpikes, tunnels, etc. are roads we use regularly and they have always had tolls associated with them as long as I can remember (back to the 1960s).

I will say that EZPass is one of the best inventions ever as it lets you just sail through the toll booths without stopping, avoiding the lines of cars waiting to pay cash. Some places EZPass doesn't even have toll booths but rather express lanes where you don't even have to slow down.

**Like2Plan** · 05-04-2015, 05:25 AM

We have the option of using "HOT" lanes in our area, but so far we haven't.

One source of irritation is when we travel and rent a car.
We were in Dallas in Feb, we found ourselves on a toll road and there was no cash pay option. I believe the actual toll was $1.25, but we ended up paying $6.05. It costs more if you don't have a transponder and the rental car company charges $3.95 a day in addition. If we had been familiar with the area we would have avoided using the road.

So, as I was researching our FL trip in Mar, I found out that they only had the electronic option to pay tolls, too. It looked like a major pain to plan a non-toll route to where we were going. I was going to order a FL sun pass since we go to Orlando 3-4 times a year, too. But, we weren't sure how the device would interface with a rental car. Also, we weren't sure if the account had a monthly maintenance fee. So, we just had the rental car company bill us again: $14.63 of which $7.90 was the rental car fee.

We were curious as to how the lanes work in Los Angeles. We always have 2 or 3 people in the car. It seemed like we were always able to use a free HOV lane option before, but we aren't sure how the pay lanes (with 2 or 3 people traveling) works with a rental car. So, we have avoided using them the past couple of times we have been there.

**bjl584** · 05-04-2015, 05:43 AM

Originally posted by disneysteve View Post

It's funny but I never thought of tolls as being a regional thing but I guess they are.

Very regional. Toll roads are far and few between around where I live. There are a few, but I have no need to travel them.

**disneysteve** · 05-04-2015, 05:51 AM

Originally posted by bjl584 View Post

Very regional. Toll roads are far and few between around where I live. There are a few, but I have no need to travel them.

Not the case around here. If we want to go into Philadelphia, like we did yesterday, we have a choice of 3 bridges but all involve a toll. There is one free bridge between PA and NJ but it's considerably north of here and not a practical option as we'd burn more in gas getting there than we'd save.

Sometimes there is a toll-free option that is reasonable where roads are concerned but typically the toll road is the much faster choice with less traffic and higher speeds.

**bjl584** · 05-04-2015, 08:39 AM

Originally posted by disneysteve View Post

Not the case around here. If we want to go into Philadelphia, like we did yesterday, we have a choice of 3 bridges but all involve a toll. There is one free bridge between PA and NJ but it's considerably north of here and not a practical option as we'd burn more in gas getting there than we'd save.

Sometimes there is a toll-free option that is reasonable where roads are concerned but typically the toll road is the much faster choice with less traffic and higher speeds.

My Mother lives about an hour from me. There is a toll road that I could take to go visit her, but it's actually quicker if I go the back way on the rural roads. I avoid a large town and a busy intersection by staying off the toll road.

**Singuy** · 05-04-2015, 11:23 AM

I pay about $1000/year living in Orlando, FL.

**QuarterMillionMan** · 05-04-2015, 11:25 AM

In Los Angeles we have High Occupancy Vehicle lanes (HOV) in which 2 people or more travelling in the same vehicle can use for free. The fine for a single person caught in the HOV lane is $250 (CHP officers hide in blind spots to do this very thing to catch law breakers). Or electric vehicles or hybrid vehicles can use the HOV lanes for free as well. The alternative is to purchase a "fast pass" transponder in order to use the HOV lanes. The amber alert/signal alert display boards advertise the prices to use the HOV lanes. In downtown Los Angeles for example during rush hour traffic it might cost $2.25 to get from MLK Blvd to Adams Blvd, approx. 3 miles. Or to go further from let's say MLK blvd to the 10 freeway approx. 5 miles might cost $7.50. The prices changes with supply and demand. And again 2 or more people in the same car don't have to pay nor do electric and hybrid vehicles have to pay.

How much do you spend on toll roads?