May 2025
Ontario Premier Doug Ford recently announced that his government would remove tolls from the provincially owned section of Highway 407, from Brock Road to Highway 35/115, effective 1 June 2025.
I hate to admit this, but I’m in favour of keeping tolls on Highway 407, for its entire length. I know, that’s a shocking thing for me to say! Like most of my fellow beleaguered taxpayers out there, I hate paying anything more for goods and services than I have to pay, especially when there is a free option available. However, my support does come with a caveat, which I will address below.
There is an opinion, quite correct I feel, that besides the fact that we have already paid once for the construction of the road, that things like gas taxes are supposed to pay for the maintenance of those roads, so why do we need to pay tolls on top of all that?
For me, I like the fact that tolls of Highway 407 keeps the traffic volumes down. Otherwise, Highway 407 would likely be just as congested as the other routes in the Golden Horseshoe area of southern Ontario, like Highway 401, Highway 403 and the Queen Elizabeth Way. I do limit my trips on Highway 407 to a minimum, opting to travel on the “free” roads as much as possible, to keep costs down. Paying a premium to travel on the 407 can be a “well-worth-it” time and stress saver at certain times of the day. I don’t travel on it every day, usually just once a week, but it can be money well spent on occasion, for those who can afford it!
Now my caveat: I would like to pay a lot less in toll charges. To travel the entire length of Highway 407, from the Highway 403 interchange in the west, to the Highway 35/115 interchange in the east, a distance of 151.37 kilometres or 94.5 miles, can cost from as low as $83.86 with a transponder, to $89.06 without one, from 0600 hrs – 0700 hrs, to $96.76 with a transponder, to $100.96 without one, from 1530 hrs – 1800 hrs.
Meanwhile, to travel on the Interstate-90 section of the New York State Throughway, from Albany to Pennsylvania State Line, a distance of 347.9 miles or 560.9 kilometres, can cost anywhere from $15.90 with a transponder, to $27.83 without one.
Even without bothering with to do the currency conversion, it appears rather obvious that traveling on Highway 407 is a lot more expensive compared to Interstate-90. You can drive for 400 kilometres further on Interstate-90 for a lot less.
I say keep the tolls on Highway 407, but charge a toll that is closer to what NY State charges their users.
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Trip Charges – 0600 hrs -0700 hrs
| With a Transponder | Without | |
|---|---|---|
 Toll Charge – 407ETR(107.964km @ 62.91 ¢/km) | $67.92 | $67.92 |
 Toll Charge – MTO(43.398km @ 34.43 ¢/km) | $14.94 | $14.94 |
| Trip charge | $1.00 | $1.00 |
| Camera charge | – | $5.20 |
| Total | $83.86 | $89.06 |
0700 hrs – 0930 hrs
| With a Transponder | Without | |
|---|---|---|
| Toll Charge – 407ETR(107.964km @ 70.19 ¢/km) | $75.78 | $75.78 |
| Toll Charge – MTO(43.398km @ 34.43 ¢/km) | $14.94 | $14.94 |
| Trip charge | $1.00 | $1.00 |
| Camera charge | – | $5.20 |
| Total | $91.73 | $96.93 |
1530 hrs – 1800 hrs
| With a Transponder | Without | |
|---|---|---|
| Toll Charge – 407ETR(107.964km @ 73.93 ¢/km) | $79.81 | $79.81 |
| Toll Charge – MTO(43.398km @ 34.43 ¢/km) | $14.94 | $14.94 |
| Trip charge | $1.00 | $1.00 |
| Camera charge | – | $5.20 |
| Total | $95.76 | $100.96 |
Total Distance: 151.37 kms or 94.5 miles.
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NY State Throughway I-90 Albany to Pennsylvania State Line
| Toll Locations | NY E‑ZPass Tolls * | NON-NY E‑ZPass & Tolls By Mail * |
|---|---|---|
| Exit 24 (I-87/I-90 – NYS Thruway) –> Exit 25 (I-90 – NYS Thruway) | $0.28 | $0.49 |
| Exit 25 (I-90 – NYS Thruway) –> Exit 25A (I-90 – NYS Thruway) | $0.23 | $0.41 |
| Exit 25A (I-90 – NYS Thruway) –> Exit 34A (I-90 – NYS Thruway) | $5.52 | $9.67 |
| Exit 34A (I-90 – NYS Thruway) –> Exit 35 (I-90 – NYS Thruway) | $0.11 | $0.19 |
| Exit 35 (I-90 – NYS Thruway) –> Exit 36 (I-90 – NYS Thruway) | $0.19 | $0.33 |
| Exit 36 (I-90 – NYS Thruway) –> Exit 39 (I-90 – NYS Thruway) | $0.31 | $0.54 |
| Exit 39 (I-90 – NYS Thruway) –> Exit 44 (I-90 – NYS Thruway) | $2.70 | $4.73 |
| Exit 44 (I-90 – NYS Thruway) –> Exit 45 (I-90 – NYS Thruway) | $0.18 | $0.32 |
| Exit 45 (I-90 – NYS Thruway) –> Exit 46 (I-90 – NYS Thruway) | $0.54 | $0.94 |
| Exit 46 (I-90 – NYS Thruway) –> Exit 47 (I-90 – NYS Thruway) | $0.76 | $1.32 |
| Exit 47 (I-90 – NYS Thruway) –> Williamsville Highway Gantry | $1.96 | $3.43 |
| Lackawanna Highway Gantry –> Ripley Toll Highway Gantry | $3.12 | $5.46 |
| Total | $15.90 | $27.83 |
Approximate Distance: 347.9 miles or 560.9 kms.
Sources: https://www.ctvnews.ca/toronto/politics/queens-park/article/doug-ford-says-some-hwy-407-tolls-to-be-removed-gas-tax-cut-made-permanent/, https://www.407etr.com/en/rate-chart-light, https://tollcalculator.thruway.ny.gov/.
