Since the introduction of the I-PASS, the cost of cash tolls has increased significantly.

Most tollways charge $1 or more in cash lanes, typically double what an I-PASS user pays.

Not all tollway costs are uniform. The I-88 Annie Glidden Road exit, where all NIU traffic is directed to, costs $1.10 for those paying cash, or 55 cents with the I-PASS. About three miles east is the Peace Road exit, which costs 80 cents for cash users, or 40 cents with the I-PASS.

Students can still get to NIU from the Peace Road exit. Drivers taking the Peace Road exit enter campus on Lincoln Highway, through downtown DeKalb.

According to Joelle McGinnis, press secretary of the Illinois Tollway Authority, people pay tolls per mile.

“In general, it’s three cents a mile with the I-PASS and six cents a mile with cash,” McGinnis said.

However, the extra three miles spent on the Annie Glidden exit costs an extra 15 cents, which is really five cents a mile.

McGinnis said tolls are higher as drivers continue west on the tollway, because the spacing of tollways is farther apart. For commuters, even with an I-PASS, costs can add up quickly.

McGinnis said drivers are charged federal, state, and local taxes that pay for various road-related work for roads one may never use, whereas tolls benefit the tollway system directly.

Despite increased cash tolls, Illinois tolls are one of the lowest in the country, McGinnis said.

“When the system opened in 1958, the typical toll was 30 cents,” McGinnis said. “Now, it’s 40 cents on average.”