Google Maps Toll Prices: Everything You Need to Know

On the other hand, everybody knows that Google is working non-stop on adding new functionality, and the most recent announcement concerns toll prices.

If you’ve been using navigation apps for quite some time, you probably know already that toll estimates are already available on Waze. So Google Maps getting the same feature isn’t by any means a surprise given Waze is also a Google-owned app.

However, Google Maps uses a different approach than Waze, so here’s everything you need to know about the toll estimates that are now making their way to users on iPhone and Android.

The feature was originally announced back in April, though some users have been seeing toll estimates in Google Maps for quite some time. But officially, the rollout kicked off this month, with Google claiming that it’s gradually happening for users in a series of specific countries.

And speaking of the countries where Google Maps is getting toll estimates, the Mountain View-based search giant says approximately 2,000 toll roads are already included in Google Maps. They are located in the United States, India, and Indonesia, but the company promises that more countries would follow sooner rather than later.

Then, it’s important to know precisely how the toll estimates work in Google Maps.

As compared to Waze, the toll prices are displayed for Google Maps users before actually starting the navigation. In other words, once you define a destination in Google Maps and the application searches for a route, it displays a preview of the toll price estimates.

However, you won’t be able to see the exact price per each crossing, but a total of the entire route (though I expect Google Maps to get a feature to display such information in the coming updates, especially as it makes much more sense to break the total into further details for each crossing).

Google says the Google Maps toll price estimates have been developed from the very beginning to be as accurate as possible. This is why the company isn’t using crowdsourcing for the whole thing but information provided by local tolling authorities.

Generating an estimate of the total toll price for a specific route isn’t necessarily as easy as it sounds, especially because longer journeys mean you could end up reaching a specific crossing at a time when the toll price could be different than the time when you start the navigation.

As a result, Google Maps relies on information such as the toll price at the moment when you’re expected to reach the crossing, the day of the week, as well as the availability of a toll pass.

Setting up the feature correctly is essential for the best experience with toll prices. Just like before, users will be allowed to avoid toll roads completely, but at the same time, Google will also add options to show toll prices with or without having a toll pass.

Without a doubt, the addition of toll price estimates in Google Maps is still in its early days, so the feature will get more refined as it lands on more devices. At the same time, Google should be able to analyze more feedback when the availability expands to more regions, especially as this is one of the most anticipated navigation features in Google Maps.

Needless to say, there’s no estimate so far as to when other countries could get toll estimates in Google Maps.