Conditional use of toll roads if saves more than set percentage of time
I live in Northern Virginia (US) where we have a growing network of high occupancy toll (HOT) lanes paralleling existing roads. These come up as separate roads in Waze as they have their own on ramps and off ramps. Just to make them more fun, they have variable tolling so when traffic is more congested on the "free" lanes the toll lanes cost goes higher. The speed limit is also higher on the toll lanes so they always come out as preferred over the regular lanes for navigation.
The current Waze app allows selection to avoid or not avoid toll roads. This won't work for a commute like mine being that part of my drive goes on a regular toll road as the alternate route would take twice as long for the given segment of my drive. For the segment of my drive where the HOT lanes are present, there are cases when I would prefer to use those lanes being that if there is a major incident in the regular lanes the HOT lanes can save a considerable amount of time.
This could be addressed if Waze had an option such as "Prefer toll road if saves over threshold percent of time" where the percent can be set to a driver's preference. Best would be if this can be calculated on segments of the drive rather than just the entire drive. By calculating on segments the first part of my drive would stay on the toll road as that part would be over the set percentage if I took an alternate route. For the second part of my drive the navigation would be able to send me to the regular or HOT lanes based on traffic conditions.
Other's have suggested using cost based preference, using a toll road if it will cost under a set amount. This won't work for the HOT lanes because of their variable tolling when the cost to use the road can vary significantly throughout the day.

Great thinking! The issue you raised has been addressed in a recent redesign. Hope you like it!
-
Gershom Tave commented
Users should be able to enter a time valuation by which Waze can offer to include only the tolls that are worth the time they save and bypass those that are not worth it. Currently the options are all tolls or no tolls and it is ridiculous to offer a second option which is longer AND more expensive which I see all the time while the middle ground is not offered.
-
Jason Fournier commented
I would like a configurable option on Waze to set how much my time is worth saving via toll roads. Wave regularly recommends that I travel a toll road costing $13 to save 2-3 minutes. This is an effective rate of about $300 per hour of saved travel time, or about $5/minute. I would like to set my own threshold to $60/hour ($1/minute) so that if Waze thinks my $13 toll trip would save me 15 minutes, then select it. Otherwise, I would rather take the non-toll route.
-
Jeffrey Poore commented
You should be able to choose whether to use express lanes. The express lanes near us are expensive. We would still like to use toll roads (you might have both on a route) but not necessarily express lanes if we have that option (plus how much time does it save us vs the cost?)
-
Anonymous commented
I think it would be a great idea to have users be able to customize their own toll penalties so they can decide how much time is worth saving based on the cost of the tolls; i.e. every unit currency must save the user a customizable amount of minutes. (e.g. at least 6 minutes saved per USD).
-
Wiki commented
Without going through settings... Is it possible to have a button on the map or last second option prior to route navigation to destination to click for no toll option? It's very annoying to go through settings every time to click on/off avoid toll. It'd be nice to have the option to quickly compare toll or no toll option see see if paying for the toll is worth time saved for the drive.
-
Adam Crane commented
something like this is exactly what I'm looking for. I live right near a lot of tolls, so I just have avoid tolls roads on.
Having a setting of how much you're willing to spend to save X number of minutes would be huge.
Or
Have a bar that states how much you're willing to spend on tolls for the particular trip. -
Jim commented
I would love this. When I'm driving for Uber and Lyft, I set to avoid tolls when I don't have a pax, and to allow tolls on most trips with a pax. It's currently a pain to go into the settings and change this. I'd love it if there were a toggle on the main UI. Going through the menu while driving is very inconvenient.
-
Chaim commented
I totally agree. Have this in my mind for so long, glad to see it out there.
Coming from upstate New York into the city could easily coat you $25 if Waze is taking you through all those expensive crossings. Sometimes it only save a couple minutes, but it costs an arm and a leg.
-
Anonymous commented
Sometimes Waze will send me on Kvish 6 to save 2 minutes. How about a setting “Toll road only to save at least X minutes”. That way it will only take me to the toll road to save significant time.
-
Tim commented
Very similar idea....
If Avoid Toll Roads is turned on, ability to have a 2nd level that allows for a time and/or amount/cost saving feature, so would avoid toll if less and if greater would allow toll route
Time is simply time limit maximum
Cost would be based on amount per distance or maximum amount of tolls, user would have to enter the $ per km/mi or $ max
-
Anonymous commented
Rather than two options for tolls (avoid tolls or use tolls), I would like a 3rd option where I use tolls if it saves me a $ per unit of time (which I will have the flexibility to set). For example, I could select the 3rd option where I would take the toll road if it saves me > 1 minute for every 50 cents spent, and if it doesn't save me enough time then it will take me on the non toll road.
-
Tom commented
This is a great idea... hope they develop it!
-
Anonymous commented
I think a slider for the threshold should be easy: "Tolls must save me X minutes". Run two solutions, with and without tolls. I wouldn't even worry about knowing the toll amount (and with variable-toll Lexus Lanes becoming more common, I'm not sure you could).
-
Manikese commented
This is a Great Idea and something that I have wanted for a while! I'm not a fan of the George Washington especially!
-
Adam McCormick commented
I second Steve's suggestion, let me tell you what my time is worth and let that decide if a toll road is worth it
-
Steve Hammond commented
I aggree with the $/minute option. On the avoid toll roads option. Give me a slider or entry filed.
I am willing to pay $0.30 per minute. If the toll route saves me 12 minutes and Costs $3.20, (12 x .30 = $3.60) is greater than the toll ($3.20) so route me on the toll road. But if it saves me 3 minutes, it is not worth it to me. -
Anonymous commented
I like most the ideas I've seen about (1) being able to enter toll fees and (2) having the system allow me to use a % time savings, but at the very least I would suggest a quicker toggle on the main screen where I can choose to use toll roads or not. Between knowing the traffic in the area and my schedule, I know most times when I want to use toll roads or not. Currently it takes too many clicks to change this setting and go back out to the main screen and reset the route. one toggle switch that I can choose to show on the main screen or a screen that is one click away is ideal!
-
beefcake666 commented
I agree with this so much. Sometimes waze sends me on a toll route that only saves me only a couple minutes but just cost me $15.00. ( Toll highway in Toronto is crazy expensive). But worth it is if it saves me 15 or more minutes.
-
Bruce commented
In NYC, bridge routes may save a few minutes but incur a toll of $7.50. Best is above suggestion to "avoid tolls unless they save x minutes/$".
-
Joe M commented
The fastest route for my daily commute involves a toll road, but it only saves 2-3 minutes compared to the free alternative and costs $1.05. That isn't worth it to me. I've seen other instances of Waze suggesting a few miles on a tollway to save just a minute and add several miles. A simple solution would be to let users specify a threshold in minutes saved above which they would be willing to pay tolls. That would be extremely valuable to me on my daily commute as it would alert me to times when the non-toll route is backed up way more than the toll route (a key capability of Waze I miss out on because I specify "Avoid toll roads"). A (perhaps needlessly) more complex solution would be to let users specify how much they are willing to pay for minutes saved, even accounting for extra mileage added/saved. But even just the simple solution would be fantastic!
(I use the iPhone Waze app)