French Peage booths for bikes

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markymark

markymark

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Possibly using the French autoroute next year, how do I know which booth to ride through, to avoid being charged the car rate ?
Has anyone got a photo of what to look out for ? Heard a few stories of bikers being ripped off :mad:

Many thanks :thumb
 
You can use any of the payment lanes and the machines somehow automatically know that you are a bike and will charge you the bike class 5 rate, which is aprox half of what a car pays. ( An exception , which most likely won't affect you, is that there is a T30 lane for those with a tag who don't like to stop and if you use that on your bike (which you can if you have a tag) then you will be charged the car rate). I found peages scary when I first rode in France but love them now once used to them. Good for progress, superb road condition, some fab aires des restes ,uncrowded and fast 130kph to get your there.
 
Vinci (one of the regional toll companies) currently have an offer on of a free toll tag http://en.sites.vinci-autoroutes.com/en/article/offer
Although this webpage is initially setup to explain how to use the peage with a tag in a car, it does give an idea of how to use it while on a bike http://en.sites.vinci-autoroutes.com/en/article/faq-0
Also IF you have a fee free credit card such as the Halifax clarity, you could link that to the tag (to pay the bill) and you`ll pay no bank surcharges
 
GrinningGSer said:
You can use any of the payment lanes and the machines somehow automatically know that you are a bike and will charge you the bike class 5 rate, which is aprox half of what a car pays. ( An exception , which most likely won't affect you, is that there is a T30 lane for those with a tag who don't like to stop and if you use that on your bike (which you can if you have a tag) then you will be charged the car rate). I found peages scary when I first rode in France but love them now once used to them. Good for progress, superb road condition, some fab aires des restes ,uncrowded and fast 130kph to get your there.
Click to expand...

Hi

Most of that is bang on with the exception of the lanes to avoid on a bike

You can't use the lanes with a 2 meter height limit bar across the top of them, they have a symbol telling you no bikes and they say "Réservé" if you use these you will be charged as a car

You can use a telepeage tag in any of the other lanes with an orange "t" including the t30 ones, they will identify a bike no problem

You can keep the tag in a top pocket or a tank bag, it will work fine
The same tag can be used in your car too inside the windscreen

Happy trails :thumb2
 
just got back today, bikes are 'class 5' if it doesn't come on the screen when you pay. press the assistance button and tell the operator
 
markymark said:
Possibly using the French autoroute next year...
Has anyone got a photo of what to look out for ? Heard a few stories of bikers being ripped off :mad:
Click to expand...

Here's some pictures to get you started. They'll probably look the same next year:

French_Toll_Roads.jpg


mr-money-2_1600920c.jpg


Like the UK, a red circle with a motorcycle in inside it, means 'No motorcycles'

The other booths, though they show the picture of a car, are fine for a motorcycle to use. These ones accept credit / debit cards. This time the circular red sign is a height limitation, not a restriction to exclude motorcycles:

tol-frankrijk.jpg


A sign with:

(i) A little man, means it's a manned booth

(ii) Money on it, means the lane will accept cash. Most often they'll accept credit / debit cards too.

(iii) An orange 't' on it, means that it will also accept the electronic payment tag. Subject to the lane not having the red circular sign that signals the exclusion of motorcycles, you can use these on your awesome steed but you'll need to buy the tag.

Use the Payage with confidence. Yes, the instructions on the machines may well be in 'foreign' but that's just a consequence of going to a country where their mother tongue is not English. Treat the ticket dispenser / payment just as if it were a car park charging system in the UK (take ticket, ride along, insert ticket, pay by cash or card, ride off) and you'll not go miles wrong; millions of motorists and motorcyclists use the French motorways every year without a problem and they can't all be Einstein by any means.

PS Though much loved by bikermates on this site, 'Rip-off' is an emotive term. Your mates have probably also told you that they check your tickets to see if the time taken between booths means that you must have been speeding and that the police will fine you. In over 42 years of going to France, I have never met one person to whom this has happened to.
 
It's very easy to avoid being "ripped off" at automatic toll barriers by looking at the vehicle class that's shown on the display. If it doesn't show your mighty steed as class 5 you just press the call button and when the operator answers use the magic phrase "classe cinq sil vous plait" and lo and behold the price will go down ;)
 
Andy_E said:
It's very easy to avoid being "ripped off" at automatic toll barriers by looking at the vehicle class that's shown on the display. If it doesn't show your mighty steed as class 5 you just press the call button and when the operator answers use the magic phrase "classe cinq sil vous plait" and lo and behold the price will go down ;)
Click to expand...

You may want to try "Class sank see voo play". ;):thumb2
 
Wapping said:
Your mates have probably also told you that they check your tickets to see if the time taken between booths means that you must have been speeding and that the police will fine you. In over 42 years of going to France, I have never met one person to whom this has happened to.
Click to expand...
Not surprised, the GDs would need the equivalent of a search warrant to even see your autoroute ticket.
 
Great.

They really are very easy.

Most of the problems encountered by bikermates on the payage are self-inflicted, involving:

(I) Bods trying to get two or more bikes through the barrier at once to avoid 'rip-off' charges

(II) Bods trying to use Caxton type pre-loaded cash cards

(III) Bods only ever wanting to use cash, even though they entered the credit card lane, as they "Do not trust any banks not to rip you off, mate" through to, "I refuse to have cards as they monitor your movements", right up to "I won't use a card as I don't trust myself not to spend money". Believe me, I've heard all three and more than once. To which might be added, "I aint got no foreign money, mate" a not unknown wail of real distress.

(IV) Bods losing their tickets and / or letting the tickets get soaking wet

(V) Bods panicking when confronted by a machine that - despite its simplicity - seems to defeat the British mind which (as when confronted with a foreign fuel pump) cannot possibly imagine how it might work ... oh, and it's being 'In foreign'

(VI) Bods - as they want to stick it to the man and protest at this form of outrageous taxation - deliberately being slow, taking off their gloves, withdrawing their wallet, slow to pay, slowly putting their gloves back on, slowly riding away. Actually, this is not a problem for the bod himself, it's just that everyone else thinks he's a prat.

And / or all or any combination of the above.

You'll be fine. Trust me.
 
last year we had a slight problem at one peage that would no accept visa cards, not a problem if we had master card, not all of us did.
 
Get yourself a telepeage tag if you come often enough to justify it,

As Wapping says they work perfectly and are simpler to use than your card or cash

You will be charged the correct rate, you will not be robbed, conned or arrested

I still chuckle to myself every time I go through a t30 without stopping and wifey doesn't have to faff around with gloves, pockets, cards, tickets, throwing euros at baskets, having the right amount blah blah blah........
 
Wapping; said:
PS Though much loved by bikermates on this site, 'Rip-off' is an emotive term. Your mates have probably also told you that they check your tickets to see if the time taken between booths means that you must have been speeding and that the police will fine you. In over 42 years of going to France, I have never met one person to whom this has happened to.
Click to expand...

If you use a telepeage tag they can and will fine you for speeding between the peage booths. They add it to your bill. They can't do it if you just pay cash or card for each section.
 
Magnet said:
If you use a telepeage tag they can and will fine you for speeding between the peage booths. They add it to your bill. They can't do it if you just pay cash or card for each section.
Click to expand...

And where did this golden nugget of information arrive from?
 
Magnet said:
If you use a telepeage tag they can and will fine you for speeding between the peage booths. They add it to your bill. They can't do it if you just pay cash or card for each section.
Click to expand...

I'm as confident as I can be that's an urban myth. I've had a tag for some years and not been fined. If they started doing that the Tag system would cease to be as nobody would use it. The operators of the peage prefer it as its money in the bank and not costly to process like cash and cards.
 
Magnet said:
If you use a telepeage tag they can and will fine you for speeding between the peage booths. They add it to your bill. They can't do it if you just pay cash or card for each section.
Click to expand...

It was tried experimentally a few years back but has several flaws

For one, to fine you the equipment has to be validated and certified like radars are, tollbooths of course are not
Also a fine needs to be issued with the appropriate "Proces verbal" from a representative of the law, toll booth staff are not plod

Finally all you need to do is stop for petrol or coffee and your average speed drops like brick

So yes, it's an urban legend

There are however average speed radars on some roads, same as in blighty, but that's another kettle of fish entirely
 
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