these barrier-free highways remain chargeable, be careful of fines

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On a business trip to Normandy in July 2024, Anne-Laure assures “not having seen anything”. Neither understood anything, when the Parisian received a letter some time later, reminding her to pay for your motorway journeyunder penalty of being sanctioned by a fine.

The driver didn't know it, but the absence of toll gates did not mean that the route was free. Since June 2024, the A14 toll, between Hauts-de-Seine and Yvelines, has been free-flowing. And from December 2024, the second portion of this busy highway between Paris and Normandy, the A13, will no longer have toll barriers either.

So, if this All Saints' Day weekend, If you are one of the many motorists traveling on motorways, be careful with these types of tolls. actu.fr takes stock.

A first free-flow highway in 2022

Since December 2019, the mobility orientation law requires each new French motorway to be free-flowing. Toll barriers are replaced by gantries detecting vehicles.

And no need to stop to pay: the cameras installed on the gates read the license plates and record the toll passes. Motorists who do not have an electronic toll badge then have 72 hours to settle their paymenton the site of motorway concessionaires or in approved tobacco shops. It is also possible to register your license plate, for automatic payment during future visits.

Although the system is already known and widely used in Norway, the United States, Chile, Canada and Portugal, it does not exist in France only since November 2022. The A79, between Sazeret (Allier) and Digoin (Saône-et-Loire), 1 hour from Clermont-Ferrand, is the first motorway to be free-flowing.

“Before, it was a national one, the RN 79. It was one of the most accident-prone roads of France, explains the APPR motorway network. The State wanted to make it a highway to secure it, and as it was after 2019, we necessarily had to pass it in free flow. »

Objective: make traffic flow more smoothly

Regarding the 210 km of the A13 – A14 axisthis time it is a project co-constructed between the State and Sanef, its concessionaire, which invested 120 million euros. Josélito Bellet is responsible for the free flow project within the company: “This historic highway, which has existed for more than 60 years, supports one of the biggest traffickers in France. The goal is really fluidity. »

Eight million customers use the Paris-Normandy route each year. We sometimes end up with a hundred kilometers of cumulative traffic jams, which represents half the journey. And most of these traffic jams are caused by toll gates.

The manager emphasizes that slowdowns sometimes start up to 15 kilometers before the toll booth. “On the 210 kilometers of the axis, there are five toll gates, therefore five payment acts. It's a lot. From next December, there will only be one. »

The transition to free flow would make it possible to save on average 30 minutes on a journey from Paris to Caen, for a motorist who would use it on weekends, from April to October. “This is an estimate, over one year, for all customers. At night, we will necessarily save less time, but during periods of heavy traffic, we can also save an hour,” explains Josélito Bellet.

A visibility problem

For the moment, free-flow motorways are little known in France. And highway concessionaires are aware of this. “It’s a new use,” confirms the APPR. We did everything a series of actionscommunication and awareness campaigns, we have put specific panels or even people on motorway rest areas at the time of launch. »

We knew there would be a learning phase. We put banners on sites like Mappy, a pop-up on Waze, radio spots… This is the first time we are advertising.

Despite this, there is still way to go to raise awareness among motorists. Although Anne-Laure did not see any signs, Maxime confirms that he was well informed of the type of highway he was taking during his vacation in Allier last June. Despite this, not easy to think about once the journey is completed.

“It’s practical, because it saves time on the road, but when we arrived, we forgot to pay,” says Maxime. We remembered two days later that the payment had to be made. »

Here too, motorway concessionaires opt for education, initially. “For first-time users who have not paid for their journey, we first send a mail to remind payment and re-explain how it works. What we see is that in two years, the files awaiting payment have gone from 5 to 1%,” informs the APPR, which emphasizes that it is a habit to get into.

There is also the question of people who are uncomfortable with online payment methods. “Within the Nirio network of tobacconists, we have 6,000 approved points of sale in France to pay the toll. The goal is to reach 10,000, which would make one in two tobacco shops in Francedevelops Josélito Bellet, from Sanef. We have also set up a center for relation clients dedicated to this and support in France services houses. »

After the educational reminder, motorists who have not paid their toll in free flow are exposed to a first lump sum compensation of 10 euros, increased to 90 euros 15 days after receipt of the payment notice, then to a fixed fine of 375 euros after 60 days.

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