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Will the French motorways lose their tolls?? This is in any case the current experiment on the A13 and the A14. The two highways that connect Paris to Normandy no longer have tolls, instead there are cameras and sensors that track traffic in real time.
According to the defenders of this method, known as “free flow”, the absence of toll allows motorists to save precious minutes by limiting slowdowns. The process would be more efficient when traffic is dense, particularly during vacation departure periods.
Free highways ? Far from it
But this absence of tolls does not mean that the highways are free. On the contrary, their price has increased since the start of the year. According to Sanef (Société des autoroutes du Nord et de l’Est de la France), this increase would be 3% on average.
For people taking the A13 or A14, payment must be made within 72 hours following passage on the highway. For motorists who already have an electronic toll badge, the bill will be added directly to their monthly payment, but for others, the headache begins.
It will be in fact possible to pay your motorway bill online, by entering your license plate, or to pay by going at a tobacconist. The latter thus attract new customers. Excellent news according to Philippe Coy, president of the national confederation of tobacconists. Payment will be made using the payment tool Nirio(from Française des jeux). For now, they are 10 000 tobacconist operators who are partners in this project.
The fines are raining down
This new system does not, however, only cause happy. In fact, users are the big losers in this transition. As the association explains, 40 million motorists, this time of change coupled with a serious lack of communication on a national scale greatly complicates the lives of users.
Since the implementation of these experiments, the fines have been raining down. Once the 72-hour deadline has passed, motorway users end up receiving their bill, accompanied by a fine of €10 (up to at €375 in the event of an increase).
In a press release, the association regretted the lack of information around this new system, which « poses problem”. She fears that the summer vacation period, with busy highways, will be real carnage for this new system, still poorly known by the French. Because in the event of misunderstanding of the rules, it is the road users who will pay the high price.
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