For smoother motorways, a new system is being installed in France: barrier-free tolls. Already in place in other countries, this new system risks generating confusion in terms of means of payment, which are always necessary, even if drivers no longer stop at the toll.
A first motorway without toll gates in the A79 in the Allier
The free-flow motorway is presented as a response to the need for fluidity on a high-traffic axis, to develop motorways and respond to new societal challenges. For the first time, from this Friday, November 4, it will be possible to travel on the A79 motorway without stopping to pay at a toll station. This concerns a portion between Montmarault (Allier) and Digoin (Saône-et-Loire). Drivers will now be able to travel at the authorized speed, without slowing down or stopping at the toll. Gates, equipped with intelligent sensors, allow the detection and identification of vehicles without reducing their speed. The Normandy motorway will be the next to deploy this toll system.
Don’t forget to pay to escape the fine
But beware: this new, more fluid and “free” system is not without safeguards: if the driver does not pay for his passage on the motorway within 72 hours, he is liable to a fine of 90 euros, which may rise to 375 euros if payment is not made within 60 days. To pay, the easiest way will be to get a classic electronic toll badge. Other means of payment are also accepted: it is possible to pay online, on the motorway website, by registering your license plate and bank details. Another option, the 16 terminals located on motorway service areas, will allow those who do not want to enter their bank details to pay not only by card but also in cash.
More room for nature…
Tested in 2019 at the Boulay-Moselle interchange on the A4 motorway, the removal of physical barriers is presented as a solution for better environmental preservation. Indeed, by gradually replacing toll gates with gantries between mid-2024 and mid-2025, the objective is, according to Arnaud Quemard, Managing Director of Groupe Sanef, a French motorway concession company, to “give back to nature” 28 hectares, the equivalent of 40 football fields, currently occupied by toll stations. In addition to occupying less natural space, customers will be able to save fuel.
… but a need to retrain employees
While the company claims that removing tolls will benefit the environment in the long term, in the short term jobs will be lost, implying retraining of employees. “We have a huge challenge of retraining our staff, and we have guaranteed to all our toll employees that we will find suitable employment for them”says Arnaud Quemard.
According to the Sanef company website, new, more diversified professions for the manual verification of license plates, to provide information on the device to users or for customer assistance for payment will have to be created. In any case, night work and on toll gates will be abolished. To retrain employees for new jobs, training and personalized support will be put in place.