According to the Lois et ordonnances des syndics des chemins à barrières, tolls collected “to come and go between midnight of one day and midnight of the next day, with the same horse or the same horses […] or the same cart” (translation) were based on the type of vehicle, the team, the load carried and the size of the wheels — the rates for narrow wheels were, in fact, higher since they damaged the road more.
For example, according to the 1897 fee schedule, a cart with four wheels and two horses cost 25 cents for wheels measuring less than 2¼ inches, 20 cents for wheels between 2¼ and 3 inches and 15 cents for wheels measuring more than 3 inches.
Different fees were charged for winter vehicles (cart, sleigh) pulled by one or two horses, herds of sheep, horned animals, carts with two and four wheels, and even for stage coaches. The owners of stagecoaches could purchase a subscription for their passengers. A fee schedule was posted at each gate, where a tool booth was usually built for the collector.
But, it should be noted that people living by the river were exempt from paying tolls.
This system was abolished in 1922 by the provincial government when the responsibility for roads was transferred to the Québec government and the municipalities. The Montreal Turnpike Trust ceased its operations at that time.