Letters: France’s toll-free motorways: a ‘nightmare’ or ‘no trouble at all’
Readers spar over their vastly different experiences with the new system
One reader says he will avoid the stretch of toll-free motorway on the A79 after a "nightmare" experience
Gary Perkin / Shutterstock
To the Editor,
Free flow on the A79 has been a nightmare. Eastbound from Moulins when it was first introduced, no apparent signage told us where to pay.
We found one at the end of the péage section. There were two flat screens. Ours was in direct sunlight and the instructions were unreadable. A voice jabbered incomprehensibly.
A kind Frenchman came to our rescue. Instead of just one trip, he also found that we had not paid for the two previous trip made before the system went live (the system recognised and had stored our UK plates, but had no capacity to trace us).
We were lucky. Traffic was light mid-afternoon, and there was no queue to (try to) pay, so the whole process took only about 20 minutes.
On a busy day, who knows how long it would take? We will not use this section again, preferring the RN from Moulins to Digoin.
Tim Mitford, Hampshire
Read more: Will my toll badge work on French barrier-free motorways?
To the Editor,
We have used sections of autoroute with the new system in place and had absolutely no trouble at all.
It was much better than facing long queues at toll booths during rush hours, with the usual last minute lane swapping, even for the télépéage booths.
We have a télépéage badge, so payment is automatically taken monthly. We do not have to worry about remembering to make payments, and there is no charge for the badge in any month when it is not used.
In the free-flow sections of the autoroutes that we used, there were big signs to explain the system, and booths in the service stations where payment could be made, just like the payment booths in some car parks.
I really cannot see anything but positives about the system. Please roll it out everywhere asap.
Martin Kingdon, by email
Have you used France's free-flow motorways? What was your experience with the system and with the payment platforms? Let us know via letters@connexionfrance.com
