407 Has New Motorcycle Rate

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Well-known member
gsxr guy said:
If you have non Ontario plates it's free .
Click to expand...

If you have a Harley ultra (the plates are tucked up under the top box) it's also free.

It's the only thing that makes me jealous of Harley riders. ;)
 
On a business trip, my nav unit took me on a toll road in Ohio. I had no idea where I was and didn't really have time to figure out an alternate route. I was on the toll road for 80 miles. The toll was under $2.00.

At what point do we start to rebel? Cost of living is atrocious and this highway is blatant rape.
 
JZ67 said:
On a business trip, my nav unit took me on a toll road in Ohio. I had no idea where I was and didn't really have time to figure out an alternate route. I was on the toll road for 80 miles. The toll was under $2.00.

At what point do we start to rebel? Cost of living is atrocious and this highway is blatant rape.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately when one of our past governments sold it, they also tied our hands. Being run by a private company they can charge whatever they please and the market will bear, and it seems like there was nothing in that sale contract that regulated rates or ensured that it was even remotely affordable.

So, here we are.

Who knows what's going on behind closed doors with Ford talking about buying it, or paying for trucks to drive on it for free to alleviate traffic on the 401, or a eleventy-billion dollar tunnel, or whatever other idea went through his head in the last month. Thinking that just taking trucks off the 401 by allowing them to drive the 407 for free is some sort of pipe dream though, reality is it's not trucks that create the overwhelming majority of traffic problems on the 401 (contrary to the belief of many), it's cars, but I guess we'll have to run that experiment to see it fail and prove such to the masses, but that's another story.

But yeah, US toll roads are insanely cheaper. You can drive all the way from Buffalo to NY City for something like $25USD
 
JZ67 said:
On a business trip, my nav unit took me on a toll road in Ohio. I had no idea where I was and didn't really have time to figure out an alternate route. I was on the toll road for 80 miles. The toll was under $2.00.

At what point do we start to rebel? Cost of living is atrocious and this highway is blatant rape.
Click to expand...
I've also been amazing at the value of tolls in the US. But also experienced very expensive ones in Pennsylvania, like $20 1 way. Found out later it was a shipping corridor. Set the GPS to avoid tolls worked like a charm.

Yeah Canadians really need to start to rebel with all the gov nonsense... well that's another story, or for another thread.
 
JZ67 said:
On a business trip, my nav unit took me on a toll road in Ohio. I had no idea where I was and didn't really have time to figure out an alternate route. I was on the toll road for 80 miles. The toll was under $2.00.

At what point do we start to rebel? Cost of living is atrocious and this highway is blatant rape.
Click to expand...
Agreed, if everyone rebelled they would get the picture pretty quickly. But every one is too chicken! Wouldn't it be great if someone organized a protest day where everybody covered their plates and blitzed the 407! It would be spectacular!
 
JZ67 said:
On a business trip, my nav unit took me on a toll road in Ohio. I had no idea where I was and didn't really have time to figure out an alternate route. I was on the toll road for 80 miles. The toll was under $2.00.

At what point do we start to rebel? Cost of living is atrocious and this highway is blatant rape.
Click to expand...

My first few US road trips almost caused me to have panic attacks when I approached a toll highway and missed the last exists. I was expecting a huge toll. A few dollars later I was laughing at myself. Now I'll happily take a toll road to save a chunk of time.
 
PrivatePilot said:
Unfortunately when one of our past governments sold it, they also tied our hands. Being run by a private company they can charge whatever they please and the market will bear, and it seems like there was nothing in that sale contract that regulated rates or ensured that it was even remotely affordable.
Click to expand...

I've ranted about this previously, but I'm happy to do so again...............

Original plan was for the Mike Harris government to lease the 407 for 30 years for $3 billion dollars. At the last moment the government added another 69 years to the lease for a further, wait for it, $100 million dollars Yes million, not billion. So for 30 years the lease cost was $100 million a year and then for the next 69 years the annual cost falls by 98.5% to $1.5 million.

Image the opportunities to divert traffic from the 401 if a 30 year 407 lease signed in 1999 was to expire in 2029, just 5 years from now. Also, would we be looking to build the 413 and the Bradford Exchange is we knew the 407 would revert back to the province in 5 years.

Also, Harris promised that rates were subject to approval by the government. As McGuinty found out later, that was a total lie.

Ford has screwed us over as well with the 99 year lease for the Thermea "spa" on the Toronto waterfront.
 
sburns said:
Yeah Canadians really need to start to rebel with all the gov nonsense...
Click to expand...

What, and get labelled a terrorist and have our bank account frozen..?

'Problem is... The 407 was built, it's there, it's accessible so we use it...
Then we complain about the cost.
Why not just not use it..?
'Because it's there and accessible and we can always find a way to justify hopping on...
For example... I'll use only when I go to the airport.
 
PrivatePilot said:
Unfortunately when one of our past governments sold it, they also tied our hands. Being run by a private company they can charge whatever they please and the market will bear, and it seems like there was nothing in that sale contract that regulated rates or ensured that it was even remotely affordable.

So, here we are.

Who knows what's going on behind closed doors with Ford talking about buying it, or paying for trucks to drive on it for free to alleviate traffic on the 401, or a eleventy-billion dollar tunnel, or whatever other idea went through his head in the last month. Thinking that just taking trucks off the 401 by allowing them to drive the 407 for free is some sort of pipe dream though, reality is it's not trucks that create the overwhelming majority of traffic problems on the 401 (contrary to the belief of many), it's cars, but I guess we'll have to run that experiment to see it fail and prove such to the masses, but that's another story.

But yeah, US toll roads are insanely cheaper. You can drive all the way from Buffalo to NY City for something like $25USD
Click to expand...
I went to FL and back as well as driving around for a few weeks and total tolls were less than one lap of 407.
 
Gaoler said:
What, and get labelled a terrorist and have our bank account frozen..?

'Problem is... The 407 was built, it's there, it's accessible so we use it...
Then we complain about the cost.
Why not just not use it..?
'Because it's there and accessible and we can always find a way to justify hopping on...
For example... I'll use only when I go to the airport.
Click to expand...
Take your money out of your bank account before you do anything silly. Or just be smart from the onset and don't store all your money where they can seize it or it evaporates if there is ever a melt down.
 
I typically only take the bike on the 407 when I have the missus on the back seat. She feels more comfortable when we leave town for the cottage on the 407 than on the 401. Can't say I blame her.

Sure, it's not free, but what I spent on ETR and gas for the bike, is more than made up for vs taking my truck on the 401 just on the fuel savings alone.

It makes her happy to be taking the motorcycle to her family cottage. I get to ride the bike instead of the truck. It still costs me far less overall than taking my truck. Solid win.
 
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