Toll booths on the Autoroutes in France

[Buzz]

Morning...

Has anyone got any tips for using the Toll booths on the Autoroutes in France - I know I should be going via D roads but I haven't got the time?

I've read a lot of stuff but it all seems to be very car-centric.

Do you always head to the right hand booth, do you always go to the manned booths so not to get charged for a car?  Do they have separate booths for motorcycles, best paying by credit card or cash?

So many questions...soz!

Cheers...Dan

[BBROWN1664]

On a bike, I have always used the manned booths but in the car I use whichever has the shortest queue. No separate booth for bikes, and some places there isn't even a manned booth.

Cash v card is a personal preference. I tend to use card all the time. No need to enter the pin, card in, card out and go.

[Grayo]

On our recent trip to the Alps we sometimes needed to cover hundreds of miles in a day just to make progress yet we still managed to use the Autoroutes and avoid the Tolls. Just put "Avoid Tolls" into your satnav and it will divert you around them. We didn't pay once !

[Bretty]

Sometimes there are lanes marked for bikes, but I just go to any lane marked for card payment, manned or not.

Sometimes the tolls don't always recognise you as a bike, and sometimes the price is the same as a car anyway.

I just insert my ticket and push the help/telephone button. A French voice will then say something and I just say, "bonjour, J'ai un Moto?!?!"
Which translates to, hello, I have a motorbike. ( "j'ai" rhymes with hay.;-))
In the unlikely event you get a confused sounding voice on the other end you may need to say this a couple of times more slowly and/or more loudly.. Last resort just say it in English. ;-)

At this point one of three things will occur: 1. They will change the price and you pay as normal. 2. You hear the French voice again but this time sounding a bit more negative. In this instance assume there is no discount for a motorbike and so pay as normal. Or 3. You get lucky and they just open the gate and it's free

I then say, "merci!!" Either way and ride off after paying.

Sometimes if there is a big bike event on, at Le Mans for example, there is a bike lane to the right which you can go through for free.

Have fun! keep polite, smiling and friendly with the French and 99 times out of 100, they'll help you!

[robbo]

If there are several bikes in your party it's easier at manned booths to have one person pay for everyone.Only one bike can go for each barrier operation but it saves time with just one person having to take off gloves and faff about paying etc.I wouldn't bother with too much speeding north of Rheims unless you want an escort to the cash point as they don't take any prisoners.

[Albert Herring]

The automated booths that are marked for cars only will charge you the car price only. The bike price is definitely lower; if you can't see anything specifically mentioned for bikes, go to the one marked for trucks/caravans/whatever.  Get into the habit of putting the ticket in the same pocket each time...

[lew600fazer]

Liber-t: Category 5 - motorcycles

[/size][/color] Motorcycles should always use the lanes staffed by personnel to get lower rates. The toll for a category 1 vehicle is charged if the fully automated lanes are used. Try this.

[locksmith]

Just lay flat on the tank and ride through  !


I remember once at the last peage before Calais a copper walked across the tarmac toward me from behind the barriers.
As we had been in a hurry to make a ferry I thought I was getting nicked for speeding. He stooped down beside the bike and gave me back the euro note I didn't know I had dropped. He then spoke to the operator who gave him some change for a coffee machine

[mtread]

Came back on the A4/A26 in May. No manned booths present but always got charged the bike rate. Looks like the gates have video cameras and the remote operator can see you are a bike.

[Billy Balthorpe]

You will be very lucky to find a manned booth. All toll booths are fitted with special cameras which identify you as a motorcycle, ive just got back from france with 9 mates on bikes. We did the same route which I use in the car to get to my gaff near Nevers, the big toll from Calais to Paris north is about 22 euros in the car, on the bike it was about 10.30 Euros. I don't use the card to pay as I am charged a fee every time I use it, so its cash all the way. It takes a bit of time to get 10 bikes through so we just pull over onto the parking area just after the booths until everyone is through, but a word of warning, make sure you keep and eye out for cars screaming out of the booths to your right as you cross to the parking area.

[slimwilly]

We have often lined up two or three bikes wide and one pays, barrier goes up and  we all go through, never had a problem with anyone, until I did it going through one where we were supposed to take a ticket, I never had a ticket to get out when there was a manned exit,,,come to my office, half an hour later they let me go, lol

[Hedgetrimmer]

We had problems at one toll near Pisa. The machine didn't give back a credit card and we couldn't understand a word of what the attendant was saying over the intercom (nor he us). Neil got through but had to go to the office to get his card back, and there was some confusion as to whether they were trying to charge him twice. They let me through without paying - I didn't realise this at first, as I'd put my card in and got a receipt. It was only after reading the receipt whilst waiting for Neil that I realised I had 14 days or something to pay online, so went to the office to pay there and then instead. There seemed to be a steady trickle of folks going through the office, not just motorcyclists, so seems a few people were having problems. Some toll machines wouldn't accept the Post Office travel money card I had for the trip too, so had to fiddle around for my normal debit card.

[BBROWN1664]

Normal debit cards work fine though you may have trouble at some rural petrol stations if you try to use pay at pump with some cards.

[Albert Herring]

Prepaid cards are a bit of a lottery with automated machinery in general, but it seems that fuel pumps in particular never take them - I think they were OK on French motorways though, and no problem for paying in petrol stations with a cashier. Didn't use Italian motorways on my last trip (FR/DE/AT/IT and back) - AFAIK they still charge you the same tolls as a car and there are almost always more interesting routes anyhow (short bits of urban ring road are usually free though).   

[fazersharp]

I just insert my ticket and push the help/telephone button. A French voice will then say something and I just say, "bonjour, J'ai un Moto?!?!"

That was funny 
Sorry not a bike and not France but in 10 years ago we went Florida Disney fly drive and got curfuddled at an un manned toll and as a que was forming the yanks in the other lane were saying "just go its fine". I think ( at the time anyway ) you have got 2 free passes before you are done. I think we needed coins and only had notes having just got off the plane and there was no facility for notes, maybe the free goes are just that toll which is the main run from the airport to orlando

[Buzz]

I got back last night and the whole experience was AMAZING, the toll booths were all unmanned but I got charged the correct amount in each.  Some of those roads are amazing I have to say!  We went the slow way down over 3 days, Calais to Epernay, Monthelie near Dijon, then onto Passy in the Alps.


Here's me and the old girl looking at an Alp on one of the Tour de France stages up to Lac D'Emosson.






I also decided to ride the whole way back from the Alps to North London in one go, 998 km in total on the Autoroutes.  The wife was a total trooper I have to say but its all down to the footrest mod on this post.  She usually gets really painful knees after 30 mins or so but she spent about 12 hours on the bike yesterday and didn't get a twinge.

[BBROWN1664]

she spent about 12 hours on the bike yesterday and didn't get a twinge. [Quote/]

She cant move today though


Glad you enjoyed it. I haven't been over with my bike for about 2 years now but really really need to do it again soon.


You did a roundabout route to get to the Alps from Calais if you went via Epernay.

[Buzz]

Epernay and Monthelie are pretty much on a straight line from Calais to Passy...we just did a really roundabout journey to each of them, but that was half of the holiday.

You did a roundabout route to get to the Alps from Calais if you went via Epernay.

[BBROWN1664]

Sorry, getting confused with Epinay which I drive past on the way to Loire/Normandy every few weeks.