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!
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Tom commented
This is a great idea... hope they develop it!
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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).
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WSDOT commented
The Washington State Department of Transportation now provides real-time toll rates for the I-405 express toll lanes as a publicly available live data stream for software developers. The API is publicly available here: http://wsdot.wa.gov/traffic/api/ , along with several other live data streams including traffic flow, travel times, and highway cameras.
We would love to see this data integrated into the Waze app to help drivers make more informed choices about their route options.
The I-405 express toll lanes let drivers choose a more reliable trip by paying a toll on weekdays from 5 a.m. to 7 p.m. Toll rates adjust depending on real-time traffic conditions and update every 5 minutes. Carpools with the right number of occupants (depending on time of day) can use the express toll lanes for free with a Flex Pass.
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Mary commented
Would love a way to see time saved with vs. without using toll roads, along with the current (even approximate) toll costs. This would be extremely valuable in the DC/Northern VA area, where express lanes vary in both cost and necessity depending on traffic. I don't want to use a paid lane, even at less than $2, to save only a minute or two, but if I can spend $8 to save 30 minutes, I'd love to be able to see that option.
I recommend this as a pop-up: "Route Option: Use Toll Roads ($XX) to save XX Minutes" - Y or N
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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!
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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
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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. -
Jeremy K. commented
I realize the desire to keep Waze simple, perhaps this could be offered as some sort of Lab option for "super users?"
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Jeremy K. commented
Create a "user requested" function to prompt toll cost and time savings when navigating. For example, 110th St via 3rd ave bridge 25 minutes 4 miles vs. $7.50 toll and 9 minutes 5 miles. In NYC turning on and off the toll option is a pain. Paying $7 or more to save 5 minutes is one thing, but time is money and $7 vs. an hour in traffic is a no brainer.
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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!
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lior commented
When offering a rout, you are writing the distance and time, you can also add cost (if relevant on a toll section)
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Joan commented
Exactly right. Simply have both options pop up immediately, the toll with $$ and the non toll, and show the minutes and miles saved choosing one option versus the other
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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.
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SunJ commented
start navigation
click bottom left button (not report tear drop)
click routes
.. but then i reverted to a mature 3.7 version to restore feature "upgrades" in 3.9 which retarded functionality
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Tory commented
It is awkward to compare toll vs. non-toll route options with it buried in Settings. When I pick a destination, the app should let me choose between "W route with $X of tolls is Y miles and takes Z mins" vs. "A route with no tolls is B miles and takes C mins"
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NoEnvriofascist commented
How? Toll cost is often market-driven. (it is variable)
Perhaps instead find/create a third party app for crowd capturing this information.
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ShiLing Tan commented
The total toll cost is pre-calculated, and includes the function of the re-route to avoid specific toll
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Moshe H. commented
When viewing Alternative routes it shows the time it will take to arrive at your destination
I would like to suggest it should also compare the "Toll Cost" for each route so the driver can make a smart decisionFor example it should show that the 1st route will take 12 minutes to arrive but will cost 10 bucks for toll vs. the alternative route which will take 14 minutes to arrive and will cost you nothing :-)
Even better there should be a setting that if the alternative route is only x minutes longer that the 1st route and is cheaper (because of toll) it should automatically use the alternative route
Thanks
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Bruce commented
In NYC, bridge routes may save a few minutes but incur a toll of $7.50. Best is above suggestion to "avoid tolls unless they save x minutes/$".
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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)