Going on the highway to save time is always annoying.

For the past few years, electronic toll badges have allowed you to go at speeds of up to 30 km per hour on dedicated routes and reclaim some precious moments. Once the traffic jam has spread to two or three lanes, they are immediately accessible.

Not without stopping, but without paying

Will this little nightmare, which breaks down a bit on holidays or holiday weekends like Ascension, end? Sanef (north and east of the French motorway company) is planning a “free flow” A13-A14 (Paris-Cain) motorway from 2024. Announcement Parisian. Or how to get to Normandy from the capital without having to pay.

Without stopping, but without paying: Gantries will be set up similar to those planned to collect Ecotox, set up to replace barriers.

The abolition of this physical toll between Paris and Cain is possible through the Mobility Act.

Three solutions to pay the toll

Drivers will have several solutions to pay their dues: If they already have an electronic toll badge, the amount will be reduced at the end of the journey – as it is today, with no cabin and no hassle.

For regular users who do not have a badge, Sanef debits the payment for each trip and provides the license plate registration on its website or mobile app.

Finally, those with the lowest settings or reluctance to register can pay their dues within a few days, on the Sanef website or at a tobacco dealer.

The system has been tested since March 2019 at the Bole-Moselle Interchange on the A4 Motorway (Lorraine).

A reliable system now?

There are always difficulties: hundreds of motorists Complained of malfunctions and filed a petition after invoicing the increase which is considered to be abuse.. Sanef re-examined each file and defended the success of the experiment:

“Free Flow” is already widely used abroad: it was adopted long ago in South Africa, Chile, Great Britain, Ireland, Norway and Sweden. Successfully replaced:

Defensive penalties

It should be noted that the fines are disappointing: the same law that allows “free flow” increases the maximum to 375 euros in the event of non-payment of toll! Again: repeating the crime six or more times a year can cost up to ,500 7,500.

A13-A14 now have “open lane” toll gates – not tolls located at exit interchanges.

On the concrete, after the first stop on A14, on the way out of Paris, A13 blocked five tolls in the middle of the road at Evreux, Rouen, Le Havre, Deauville, and finally Caen. Numerous mandatory stops and restarts for motorists.

But that’s not all: with up to 120,000 vehicles per day, the A13-A14 is one of the busiest motorways throughout the year due to the high number of domestic trips.

Multiple offers and a small temporary additional cost

There are several promises: in addition to the precious minutes, Sanef estimates that the end of these toll caps will save 9.5 million liters of fuel – equivalent to the annual consumption of 11,000 vehicles, or about 20 million euros at current petrol prices. Levels.

Unused fuel, when passed, will reduce vehicle pollution.

With the toll increase of 2 euro cents (+ 0.22%), motorists will be required to finance only a quarter of the 2 122.6 million investment for three years. Sanef is guaranteed a lump sum compensation, incentive savings.

No other “big” highways are being considered for the time being

What then? Of the existing motorways, only the A13 is currently of concern.

As of this summer, the system will also be fitted to the new A69 motorway between Toulouse and Castros on the future A79, Allier, this fall.

Vinci is testing the system in two central and western parts, but no other plans have yet been planned on the other existing axes. Q: For example, it’s not fun to implement when foreign drivers take a very large segment or are crowded on certain days of the year. In other words, the monstrous traffic jams that stop on the A6 and A7 every summer will not soon disappear …