Waze Toll Pricing helps you find the cheapest route

Enlarge Image

Crowdsourced navigation app Waze is getting a potentially valuable new feature -- toll prices. The Google-owned app will now offer to estimate route costs including toll pricing to help drivers plan their travels in advance -- the app won't just offer toll alerts en route. The new feature rolls out across iOS and Android apps in the US and Canada starting today.

According to an official statement from Waze, the additional functionality necessitated the creation of an entirely new tool, a project that began earlier this year. The feature required creating a new database into which Waze editors "input a large amount of data, from the pricing for different types of toll road passes to the entrance and exit points for toll roads," said John, a map editor cited in an official Waze email. That said, this data is crowdsourced, like other Waze alerts for accidents, police and so on -- it does not rely on data furnished by toll road authorities.

Right now, many navigation apps and embedded in-dash systems will alert drivers about the existence of toll roads, but they seldom call out specific toll pricing. Many such programs do allow for route planning that avoids toll roads altogether, however.

According to Waze, "With more than 5,000 miles of toll roads across the continental US, this feature will be priceless for Waze's massive community of users. This hyperlocal feature was built with the support of our robust community of local volunteers, underscoring that Waze is truly people-powered and community-driven."

While toll roads aren't a daily factor for most US drivers, for those in major cities where frequent toll booths are a fact of life -- Chicago, I'm looking in your direction -- this new Waze feature could be particularly helpful.