Drivers using a portion of Highway 407 will see an increase in their bills next year.
Tolls on the 108-kilometre express route, which stretches from Burlington to Pickering, have been frozen since 2020 as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
That’s about to change as of February 2024.
Highway 407 ETR, the company responsible for the tolls, said a new rate schedule will be introduced on the first of the month. They cited a return to normal traffic post-pandemic as the reason for ending the four-year freeze.
Drivers of light vehicles, including most passenger cars and light-duty trucks, will see tolls increase between one and 11 cents per kilometre depending on the time of day and zone travelled.
The agency says the increase could result in a monthly increase of less than $5 for the average customer.
There are four zones along the express route, and each has a different rate depending on the time of day. For example, when travelling between the QEW and Highway 401 around 7 a.m. on weekdays, drivers could be charged about 49 cents per kilometre westbound and 55 cents eastbound.
As of Feb. 1 2024, that same distance will cost about 58 cents westbound and about 60 cents eastbound.
A full breakdown of the rate schedule can be found on the Highway 407 ETR website.
These tolls are separate from those set by the provincial government for the section of the highway beginning in Pickering and ending in Clarington.