French toll booths are to be redesigned to create a more efficient system. Drivers and the environment will benefit, if everything goes according to plan.
Waiting at the barrier, paying the motorway toll and then finally driving on - In contrast to Germany, the motorway toll is normal for many countries. For many drivers, however, this procedure seems too cost-intensive, leading more and more countries to look for more practical toll systems. Now it seems that a solution has been found - at least in France for the privatised motorways.
Here, the toll booths are to disappear from the motorways in future and be replaced by more modern camera recognition systems. The fee will be collected electronically by cameras installed above the lane to scan the number plates and size of passing vehicles.
Customers will then have up to 72 hours after the journey to pay in cash or by card at payment stations or online. Alternatively, subscriptions will also be possible, for example through the electronic reader "télépéage". Here, as with the planned new toll cameras, it will not matter whether the car is registered in Germany or abroad - every number plate will be recognised by the scanner.
The barrier-free payment system will be put into operation for the first time only on a 30-kilometre stretch of the A79 in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region. If the new toll stations function smoothly, the French motorway operator APRR then plans to make further investments - in order to bring the toll system into operation nationwide in the long term in cooperation with the state. This would not only mean faster journey times for all motorists travelling in France, but would also make a positive contribution to climate protection. Braking and subsequent acceleration are to be eliminated, which would lead to smoother traffic - and thus to considerable CO2 savings.
Increasingly, France is trying to reduce the impact of the transport sector on the environment. The new toll system is just one aspect of France's broader plan for future mobility, which relies heavily on the introduction and tightening of low emission zones. New regulations are also being added this month. Namely, starting today, entry rules in some cities will become stricter and new zones will also be introduced - including Lyon, Marseille, Rouen and Toulouse. You can find out exactly what the rules are in our next newsletter.