A penny saved is a penny earned, but 15 pennies is an even sweeter deal.

Most students returning to DeKalb Sunday nights have two choices to make. Coming off Interstate 88, they can either take Annie Glidden Road and pay the 55-cent toll or save 15 cents by getting off two-and-a-half miles earlier at Peace Road, where the toll rate is 40 cents.

“We take Annie Glidden anyway because it’s closer,” said Anna Schroeder, a freshman education major.

The way toll prices are determined is based on a per mile rate, said Joelle McGinnis, press secretary for the Illinois State Tollway office.

“Prices vary throughout the state,” McGinnis said. “At different plazas, it’s 15 cents, 35 cents or 20 cents.”

By law, the toll rates are at an equitable rate, averaging about three cents per mile.

For example, if you are on Interstate 88 and traveling west, the first chance you will get to pay again will be 15 cents if you get off on the Winfield Road ramp. There are other ramps with no tolls.

If you continue westbound to Farnsworth, you will have to pay 30 cents. If you stay on the main line, which is Aurora, the toll price will be 40 cents because you will get to travel more miles.

The Annie Glidden Road exit is 15 cents more because the car is traveling farther.

“We want to ensure that everyone will pay equitably,” McGinnis said.

On Annie Glidden, the number of cars that pass through on an average daily basis is 1,810. On Peace Road, the exit sees about 3,310 cars each day.

“That is not to say that all those cars that come off Peace Road go to Northern,” McGinnis said. “Some may get off there because it’s closer to work. Toll rates aren’t based on the number of cars that come through.”

For some students, saving that extra change is enough to get off an exit earlier.

“I get off Peace Road because [Annie Glidden] is too expensive,” said Dahlia Furlager, a freshman fine arts major. “I don’t usually come when there’s too much traffic.”

For most students though, the Annie Glidden exit is just more convenient.

“I get off Annie Glidden because it’s closer,” said senior Spanish major Laura Hluchi.

The toll booth from Interstate 88 at the Annie Glidden Road exit is 15 cents more expensive than the booth 2-and-a-half miles east at Peace Road, attributed to an average charge of approximately 3 cents per mile.