Drivers complain over barrier-free French motorways - and their fines
The new system is supposed to make traffic more fluid and environmentally friendly, but many have reported payment difficulties
Many drivers have reported finding the ‘flux libre’ motorway system confusing and frustrating
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Drivers in France are increasingly reporting issues with ‘toll-booth-free’ motorways, including one who said they were fined €90 for failing to pay a 30 cent péage fee.
The new ‘barrier-free’ motorways, called ‘autoroutes à flux libre’ in French, do not have physical péage or toll booths, in contrast to traditional motorway roads.
How do the new ‘flux libre’ tolls work?
The free-flow system is intended to reduce traffic and make journeys faster and more environmentally friendly, by asking drivers to pay at the start or end of their journeys, rather than by stopping to pay along the route.
Instead of péage toll booths, the roads have cameras equipped with number plate detection software to check who has paid and who has not.
Drivers can either pay for their travel on the motorway company’s website, by a télépéage pre-paid electronic badge, or at one of France's many tabac shops (for certain motorway operators).
On the A79, for example, there are 16 payment booths at the border of the motorway, enabling drivers to pay either by card or by coins.
Pierre Meau, client director for the Autoroutes-Paris-Rhin-Rhone (APRR), which completed the project, said in 2022: “Clients have 72 hours to pay for their journey [if not pre-paid].”
Drivers who fail to pay risk a €90 fine, as well as the cost of the péage. The fine rises to €375 if it is not paid in 60 days.
APRR has access to European licence plate databases too, so can track vehicles even if they are not registered in France.
This means that the drivers of foreign licenced vehicles are also expected to pay or risk a fine.
However, it is not known whether drivers with a vehicle registered in the UK have received fines in the UK.
Motorway operator Sanef, which manages the free-flow system on the A13/14, told The Connexion in June that it could fine UK-based drivers but gave no details on how it acquires their home addresses.
Read more: LIST: where barrier-free motorway tolls are starting in France and when
Payment problems
Some drivers have reported problems with the system, including complaints that:
The information on payment is unclear
The time allowed for payment is too short
Electronic payment badges do not work
Communication on how and where to pay is flawed
For example, one driver from Paris said that he was caught out on the A13 motorway between Paris and Normandy, when it became a ‘free flow’ system (the A14 has also changed).
‘I did not see this new system at all on the way out, and only noticed it on the way back,” said Florent to La Dépêche. “I had to do the legwork myself to pay.”
He said that there was no payment terminal or barrier on the road, which caused him to have to search for a way to pay.
“I have [now] paid, but the system is unbearable,” he said.
Read also: Make sense of... Autoroutes and péages
‘Real step backwards’
While Sanef is increasingly committed to the free-flow system - which is also championed by the transport ministry - not all companies are convinced.
In a statement, Vinci Autoroutes said: “We believe that forcing customers to pay their tolls at a tabac shortly after their journey is a real step backwards and a major complication in terms of customer experience.”
Read also: First barrier-free paying motorway to open in France today
Most motorways in France still use the regular toll booth system. However, the motorways and tolls that have switched over to a free-flow’ system include:
The future (highly controversial) A69 road between Toulouse and Castres is also set to be booth-free.
Read also: Thousands march against new motorway project in south-west France
It comes as motorway companies warn that péage tariffs could rise by as much as 5% next year, if a proposed infrastructure tax goes ahead (although the government has denied this).
Read also: Why French motorway péage tariffs could be set to rise (a lot)
The free-flow system is already in widespread use in other countries, including in Canada, South Africa, Chile, and the United States.
In Europe, it is already in use near Milan, on several roads in Norway, on half of the motorways in Portugal, on the Mersey Gateway bridge in the UK, and in Stockholm.
What was your experience of free-flow motorways in France? Was it easy to pay? Did you receive a fine? Let us know via feedback@connexionfrance.com
