Taking a cross-country road trip or driving through an unfamiliar, heavily developed metropolitan area can quickly become incredibly expensive if you accidentally merge onto private, paid highways. Many modern GPS applications will automatically route you straight through these costly toll plazas simply because they shave three minutes off the total travel time. If you want to protect your wallet and perhaps enjoy a slightly more scenic, relaxed route, you can force Google Maps to completely eliminate all toll roads, express lanes, and major highways from its routing algorithm.
How to Change Your Route Options
You must configure this setting before you actually begin driving and listening to the turn-by-turn directions.
- Open the Google Maps application on your iOS or Android smartphone.
- Type your final destination into the top search bar and tap the blue Directions button at the bottom of the screen.
- Before you tap the “Start” button, look for the three vertical dots (the menu icon) in the top right corner of the screen (next to the “Your location” box). Tap those dots.
- Select Route options from the drop-down menu that appears.
Activating the Toll Blockade
A new menu will slide up from the bottom of your screen, offering several powerful navigational filters.
- Check the box next to Avoid tolls.
- If you prefer to take quiet, local backroads and avoid massive interstates entirely, you can also check the box for Avoid highways.
- Tap the blue Done button.
Google Maps will instantly recalculate the entire journey. The estimated travel time will likely increase, but the route overview map will shift entirely to utilize completely free, secondary public roads, ensuring you never encounter a surprise toll booth.