You may soon estimate your toll gate costs, thanks to this upcoming Google Maps feature
This upcoming Google Maps feature will soon help you budget your travel expenses.
Google recently announced that an update for a new Google Maps feature would include the estimated travel cost of your trip when using toll gate services based on "trusted information from local tolling authorities."
For the planner friend: this new feature is for you. 🙏
— Google Maps (@googlemaps) June 13, 2022
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
For the time being, the new toll gate feature is only available in nearly 2,000 toll gates in the United States, India, Japan, and Indonesia. The update will be rolling out soon in more countries, including the Philippines.
Google said they “look at factors like having a toll pass or not, what the day of the week it is, along with how much the toll is expected to cost at the specific time you’ll be crossing the toll gate.”
Users will also have a setting option “to show toll prices with or without having a toll pass--as in many geographies, the price changes based on the payment method you use.”
Previous releases of Google Maps updates already allowed users to avoid access to toll roads in the application setting to save money on paying toll gate charges.
However, Google-owned Waze already has these features and included a toll cost estimation as early as 2019, initially launched in the US and Canada, but the information relies more on the users' input.
So far, these are the features offered by Google Maps:
- Real-time GPS navigation
- Real-time updates on traffic jams with an estimated time of arrival to the destination
- Real-time updates for public transportation
- Automatic rerouting for closed roads and high traffic jams
- Discover new places with recommendations by local guides, Google, and publishers
- A voice-activated navigation system
Meanwhile, these are the current features offered by Waze:
- Alerts on traffic, police, and hazards
- Speedometer
- Instant route changes
- Toll costs
- Estimated time of arrival
- Find the cheapest gasoline station along routes
- Variety of voices for navigation
Both Google Maps and Waze are available on Android and iOS devices.