The 407 ETR is the toll highway that crosses the top of the Greater Toronto Area, from Burlington in the west to the Durham Region in the east. It is often the fastest way around the city at rush hour. It also has no toll booths at all, which surprises many people driving a rental for the first time. This guide explains how the tolls work and what you pay when you use it in a CarmaCars car.
How the 407 ETR charges
There are no gates and no booths. Cameras on gantries above the road photograph the licence plate of every vehicle that enters and leaves. The highway's operator then bills the vehicle's registered owner by mail.
A trip on the 407 ETR is usually made up of:
- a toll for each kilometre, which depends on the section of highway, the time of day and the day of the week,
- a charge for each trip,
- a camera charge, because a rental car does not have a transponder.
The rates change, and the operator publishes them on its own website. For a short hop the total is modest; for a long trip at rush hour it can be a meaningful part of a day's rental.
How the toll reaches you
Because the car is registered to us, the bill comes to us, often several weeks after your rental. We match each toll notice to the booking that had the car at that date and time, and charge it to you at cost, plus a $15 administration fee for each notice. The charge appears on a statement after the rental, and the card on file pays it.
That is why a toll can show up long after you returned the car. It is not an error: the highway simply bills slowly.
How to avoid tolls
You never have to use the 407 ETR. The 401 runs parallel to it, a little further south, and it is free. Most map apps have a setting to avoid toll roads; switch it on before you set off and the route will keep you off the 407 ETR.
Signs at every entrance ramp show that the 407 ETR is a toll road, usually in blue and with the highway's own logo. If you see one and do not want to pay, take the next free road instead.
When the 407 ETR is worth it
If you are crossing the GTA at rush hour, for example from Pearson to Markham or from Oakville to Vaughan, the 407 ETR can save a lot of time. For an airport run with a flight to catch, many renters decide that the toll is worth paying. Just know that it will arrive later, with the $15 fee added.
Checking a toll charge
Each toll we charge shows the date and time of the trip and the amount on the notice, so you can match it to your own plans. If a toll does not look like yours, for example a trip on a day you had already returned the car, tell us. We check the booking and the times, and remove a charge that belongs to someone else.
Other charges that arrive after a rental
Tolls are not the only thing that can reach us after you return the car. Parking tickets and camera speeding or red light tickets are also sent to the registered owner. We match them to your booking and charge them to you, plus $40 for each ticket we process. If you think a ticket is wrong, tell us: we can give you what you need to dispute it.