Toll Roads vs. Free Roads Poll and Discussion

[US 41]

I'm definitely the cheap guy in this poll. The only way I take toll roads is if there is a tunnel or neat bridge. Besides that you will see me on the old 2 lane highways. In Oklahoma I took Old 66 all the way from the state line to OK City just to save $8. Hey, that $8 bought me dinner that night! A 65 MPH speed limit on 66 wasn't too bad either.

[cjk374]

I don't believe in paying to use a road that tax $$ initially built.  Man...$8 is expensive!  How many miles does that toll cover?

[oscar]

Depends on how high is the toll, the quality of the toll and free roads, whether I've already traveled one or the other, and how much of a hurry I'm in.  I often prefer to shunpike, but not always. 

This topic does not lend itself to a poll, even if you add more choices.  So I'm not voting.

[froggie]

I'm generally in the same boat as Oscar.  And as he noted, the topic isn't as simple as an "either or" like the poll suggests.

[US 41]

I don't believe in paying to use a road that tax $$ initially built.  Man...$8 is expensive!  How many miles does that toll cover?

About 200 miles.

[hotdogPi]

If the non-toll route is shorter, even if it takes longer, I'll take the shorter route.

Example: Haverhill MA (or any other place passing through Haverhill) to White Mountains.

Option 1, toll: I-495 to I-95 to NH 16. $3.50 toll (I think).

Option 2, non-toll: MA/NH 125 to where it reaches the same route as Option 1 (free section of NH 16). 10 miles shorter, 10 minutes longer. I would definitely take this option.

[corco]

Depends on how high is the toll, the quality of the toll and free roads, whether I've already traveled one or the other, and how much of a hurry I'm in.  I often prefer to shunpike, but not always. 

This topic does not lend itself to a poll, even if you add more choices.  So I'm not voting.

This.

Do I shunpike in Oklahoma? Yeah, but more because Oklahoma is a scenic state and I'd rather not be on limited access highways. I'll absolutely get on the turnpikes if I need to though- the price is negligible to drive on them.

Do I shunpike E-470 in Denver because it's a ripoff? Yes.

Do I shunpike in, say, Chicago? No.

[Brandon]

I don't believe in paying to use a road that tax $$ initially built.  Man...$8 is expensive!  How many miles does that toll cover?

Taxes did  not build that toll road.

[Scott5114]

The turnpikes in Oklahoma are usually worth the cost because the fares are pretty low per-mile, and the turnpikes have a 75 mph speed limit. And, as Brandon alluded to, all toll roads in Oklahoma were built with bonds, not taxes.

[jeffandnicole]

I deal with this on a daily basis, between 295 & the NJ Turnpike.

Usually, I'll take 295.  If there's an accident, unusual congestion, etc, I'll take the Turnpike.

But due to delays getting off the Turnpike, it may not always be the fastest route overall.  I can drive at highway speeds to avoid the clogged 295, but then it can take 20 miles to get thru the toll plaza and thru the local roads.

If I'm on a long-distance drive, on vacation, etc, I may take the toll road if I've never been on it before, but otherwise I'll probably stick with the non-tolled highways.

[bzakharin]

I'll take the faster route unless the time difference is close to non-existent. The Turnpike and I-295 are a special case as (assuming no traffic), there is no time difference between the southern terminus and Exit 5 on the Turnpike / Exit 47 on 295. I won't inconvenience myself. I take the Atlantic City Expressway daily and will not switch to US-30 or US-40 to avoid tolls.

[texaskdog]

The toll roads in Texas are too expensive and the money goes to Spain.   I can drive across Kansas for $6 yet it costs me that much round trip to drive to Leander   They can keep their expensive toll roads.

[cpzilliacus]

I usually take the faster road, which generally means the toll road. 

In some cases, there is no practical alternative to a toll road or toll crossing, such as the Chesapeake Bay Bridge or (even more so), the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel. 

The "free" alternatives to Va. 267 (Dulles Toll Road) are not especially attractive, and can be severely congested at any time of the day, so I would rather part with $3.25 (current one-way toll, much of which is diverted to a train construction project) rather than use the "free" alternatives.

[Takumi]

I tend to shunpike in general.

[mtantillo]

I generally take the fastest route, which often means I'll take a toll road.

However....if there are locations where a short detour will significantly eat into the cost of the tolls, I'll take the detour. For example, detouring around the Newark tolls on I-95 makes sense...about 5 minutes invested to save $4. Detouring around the Tydings Bridge in Maryland, about 8 minutes of additional travel time to save $8 (requires purchase of Hatem unlimited plan on a Maryland-issued E-ZPass). Or Tappan Zee versus GWB, when you account for delays in the Bronx, timewise the Tappan Zee is definitely a worthwhile detour when heading to New England. I will also go to rather great lengths to make sure I'm paying the cheapest possible toll, through the use of commuter plan discounts and "local spot" discounts for those who pay with a locally issued E-ZPass transponder, which means I have more than 1 transponder.

I like non-toll roads, but despite my always making sure I get the cheapest toll rate available, I'm not going to go all the way up to Albany to avoid paying a toll to cross the Hudson.

[1995hoo]

I agree with Oscar and I didn't vote either. If the toll road is substantially faster or more reliable, I'll usually use that. But if I want to go for a clinch on the other road, or use an exit I can't easily get to from the toll road, I'll use the other. Or I may just want to go a different way due to boredom in either scenario.

[hbelkins]

It depends, for me, on the purpose of the trip, how much time I need to make, etc. For instance, there is really no good way to shunpike the toll booths on the West Virginia Turnpike between Charleston and Beckley that don't involve narrow little West Virginia county routes. Best just to pay the tolls at the two barriers and be done with it.

The WV Turnpike can really only be effectively shunpiked from my perspective (an east-west traveler on I-64) if your destination is the DC area and you opt for 79-68-70-270 out of Charleston instead of 64-81-66. And even then, some don't like it. I knew someone from Kentucky who lived in the DC area who said they'd rather take the southern route because they hated 270 heading toward Frederick.

From where I live, once US 121 is finished, it would be an effective shunpike if I want to go east on I-64 beyond Beckley.

[Henry]

In Chicago, I don't mind paying to use the Tollways that lead there. The only way I shunpike is if there's an accident, in which case I use the parallel surface roads as a backup.

[adventurernumber1]

I cannot vote, for there could be so many different situations. One is that the toll road could have hardly any traffic while the free road could have traffic galore morning and evening, and in that case I'd take the toll road.

[Laura]

Detouring around the Tydings Bridge in Maryland, about 8 minutes of additional travel time to save $8 (requires purchase of Hatem unlimited plan on a Maryland-issued E-ZPass).

Oh yes. I have saved so much money over the years by using the Hatem bridge northbound instead of the Tydings bridge. On average, it takes me 10-12 minutes to do the full shunpike northbound on MD 155 - US 40 - MD 222 and 4 to drive it free southbound on I-95.

I also take the (on average) 8-10 minute shunpike from MD 279 - DE 4 - DE 896 (and vice versa) to skip the $4 toll at the DE line. It takes 4 minutes to take the toll way.

So yeah. I'm willing to drive up to 20 extra minutes on a round trip from MD to DE to save $16.

I cannot vote, for there could be so many different situations. One is that the toll road could have hardly any traffic while the free road could have traffic galore morning and evening, and in that case I'd take the toll road.

This is why I will not shy away from paying for the ICC to get around DC during rush hour. The $4 is entirely worth the time savings.

[Zzonkmiles]

I try to avoid toll roads if I can. My taxes already paid for these roads, so I don't see why I have to pay for them again. Plus, when driving on an unfamiliar toll road out of state, you might be stuck with paying a $1.75 toll with a $20 bill much to the chagrin of the tool booth attendant.

There's a tolled interstate in SC (I-185) in the Greenville area. It is totally worthless because you could just take I-385 to I-85 and add a few more minutes to your driving time for free. There's actually talk of tolling I-95 through SC. I fear for what that may do to the traffic situation on an already stressed road.

[Brandon]

I try to avoid toll roads if I can. My taxes already paid for these roads, so I don't see why I have to pay for them again.

AGAIN, FOR THE STUPID OUT THERE!  NO TAXES WERE USED ON TOLL ROADS THAT SOLD BONDS TO PAY FOR CONSTRUCTION AND USE TOLLS TO PAY FOR MAINTENANCE AND EXPANSION! 

[oscar]

What Brandon said is not true for every toll road.  But people allergic to toll roads shouldn't casually whip out the "we already paid for this" excuse where it doesn't apply.  There are plenty of other excuses available, use them instead.

[Brandon]

What Brandon said is not true for every toll road.  But people allergic to toll roads shouldn't casually whip out the "we already paid for this" excuse where it doesn't apply.  There are plenty of other excuses available, use them instead.

That, and the other excuse of "we were promised it would be free after all the bonds were paid off, or after x number of years."  Other than a few states such as Kentucky, I'd love these folks to show me where, in writing, this was promised.  If it was verbally by a politician, it's no more than hot air.

[mrsman]

I generally take the fastest route, which often means I'll take a toll road.

However....if there are locations where a short detour will significantly eat into the cost of the tolls, I'll take the detour. For example, detouring around the Newark tolls on I-95 makes sense...about 5 minutes invested to save $4. Detouring around the Tydings Bridge in Maryland, about 8 minutes of additional travel time to save $8 (requires purchase of Hatem unlimited plan on a Maryland-issued E-ZPass). Or Tappan Zee versus GWB, when you account for delays in the Bronx, timewise the Tappan Zee is definitely a worthwhile detour when heading to New England. I will also go to rather great lengths to make sure I'm paying the cheapest possible toll, through the use of commuter plan discounts and "local spot" discounts for those who pay with a locally issued E-ZPass transponder, which means I have more than 1 transponder.

I like non-toll roads, but despite my always making sure I get the cheapest toll rate available, I'm not going to go all the way up to Albany to avoid paying a toll to cross the Hudson.

Is it in fact cheaper to buy the Hatem unlimited plan and pay a monthly maintenance fee to MD, then to pay the toll on I-95?  I guess it depends on how often you go.