The mobile Google Maps app now estimates toll charges for your journey, which allows you to plan ahead by seeing how much you’ll need to pay in route tolls.
- Google Maps for iOS and Android has picked up a new feature to estimate the amount of money that you’ll need to pay in tolls for your chosen route.
- You can check estimated toll prices before you pick a route, which makes it easy to decide whether to take this or an alternative, toll-free route.
- The helpful feature is being introduced in stages, initially in the US and a few other countries before expanding to more regions.
Google Maps now estimates toll charges
Before, Google Maps could tell you if a toll is payable, but has never offered estimates what the amount of toll might be. This information now appears before you start navigating so you can decide between taking toll roads and regular ones. To be clear, Google Maps will show you the estimated toll price to your destination. Google sources these prices from local tolling authorities but there’s always the possibility that the final sum could vary slightly from the price you’ll actually end up paying.
Google says that it takes into account factors such as having a toll pass or not, what the day of the week it is and even which payment method you use. The company also accounts for how much the toll is expected to cost at the specific time you’ll be crossing it, according to Google’s support page.
When this launches, the settings page will let you show or hide toll prices at will, with or without having a toll pass. Optionally, you’ll be able to flip on the “Avoid tolls” switch in the Google Maps settings if you’d like to avoid routes that cross toll roads whenever possible. Google Maps for iOS is available for free. [App Store link]
For the planner friend: this new feature is for you. 🙏
Now when you’re planning trips big and small, you can check estimated toll prices before you pick a route—and spend what you save on road snacks. pic.twitter.com/Lfy8s2TXQU
— Google Maps (@googlemaps) June 13, 2022
In which countries are Google Maps toll prices available?
Estimated toll prices will start appearing on Google Maps over the coming days. Not everyone will get the feature on the same day so check back later if you don’t have it already. Google says that route toll pricing estimates will cover approximately 2000 toll roads in the United States, India, Japan and Indonesia. Following the initial wave of launches in those countries, Google Maps will eventually roll out toll price estimates in additional countries. Read: How to travel back in time with Google Maps