Following a pandemic-era rate freeze that lasted for four years, the 407 ETR is raising its fees again starting next month.

Motorists looking to avoid Toronto's brutal traffic by taking the toll route will now be paying up to 11 cents more per kilometre to do so, which can add up quickly over long distances or as part of a daily commute.

A press release from the 407 ETR Concession Company Limited — which owns most of the route, from Burlington to Pickering — assures the public that the hike will only amount to "a monthly bill increase of less than $5" for the majority of personal customers.

As always, the day and time of use will dictate the toll amount, as will the direction of travel, the section of the highway in question and the weight of the vehicle using it.

The new charges for using Highway 407 ETR starting February 1. Chart from 407 ETR.

The fee for light vehicles will now be as high as 71.26 cents per kilometre (travelling eastbound from Highway 427 and Highway 404 between 3:30 p.m. and 6 p.m.), compared to 30.22 cents per kilometre at the lowest (weekdays 12 a.m. to 6 p.m. and after 7 p.m., plus weekends 12 a.m. to 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. onward, on all parts of the road).

The new pay structure goes into effect on February 1, 2024, and comes as more people have returned to the office, and thus the roads, post-COVID.

Of course, drivers are already complaining about the change, calling it "brutally expensive" and yet another example of greedflation in Ontario.

One person bemoaned on X how the charges they receive for using the thoroughfare add up to more each month than their car payment and insurance bill put together.

But, there is one way to traverse the 407 freely at no cost, as proven by one local couple a few years ago: just have a baby on the side of the road.

@407ETR is a borderline criminal enterprise. Toll highways here in France average about 13.5 cents CAD per km and the highways are in much better shape

— Jon Fraser (@JonFraserTF) December 31, 2023

The expressway spans 151 km across the GTA, reaching from Burlington in the southwest to Clarington in the northeast in two sections.

The 108-km-long first portion, formally the 407 ETR, is owned by a private consortium that includes Spanish transportation giant Ferrovial and indirectly owned subsidiaries through the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board. The provincial government holds the smaller second chunk, referred to as just Highway 407.