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Is there a simple explanation of the various channels one can go through to pay one's toll. Which is the quickest? what is telepeage? I recently spent 17 minutes waiting to go through a channel with a green arrow and cars sailed past me into other channels with few cars waiting.
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Telepeage uses a telemetry system so that the driver can pass straight through the toll gate and the fee is automatically deducted from his/her account.
Other options are coin machine (picture of a 'bin' with coins going into it) and attended toll booth (man's head with a hat).
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Further on this topic - the toll machines in Japan are absolute wonders of technology. If your vehicle is fitted with the 'tele-toll' system you can drive straight at the barrier at 50mph and it whips up just in time - never seen such fast moving barriers, and the drivers obviously have 100% confidence in the system! Don't try it during a powercut though!
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A former colleague reckons he pefected the technique for paying Mersey tunnel toll with out stopping:
1. While crusing up to the booth at 20mph ready change in hand, one shot window down.
2. Throw pound coin (it was cheaper back then) into basket, while coasting with foot hovering over brake.
3. Barrier rises, power through, one shot window up.
This was of course rather embarrassing when the pound missed the basket!
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Not sure how you can tell which is the fastest queue but if you pull up behind a silver 2003 Sharan with a Finnish and GB flag on the back window then that will be my car and an absolute gaurentee that it is in the slowest lane.
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We had all sorts of fun on the way back from Le Mans this year, I'm pretty sure the French police were keeping a couple of lanes free for French registered cars.
There were huge queues leading up to the tolls, but what appeared to be a credit card lane was hardly being used, one Brit in a Farrari F430 was heading towards it and got a right royal rollocking from French plod and told to get back into the "other" line. But the French cars were whistleing through, without being stopped at all.
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The credit card lane is the one to go for CB - Carte Bleu, doesn't ask for your PIN, issues a receipt if you press the button for one.
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I always try to use a staffed lane, having had one or two nasty moments in card-only ones when the technology has failed. It's worth the wait, which is only a few seconds except perhaps on a July or August Saturday.
Just to wander off the thread slightly, why is that SWMBO, normally a person well versed in the use of reason, when faced with 12 parallel ferry queues ALWAYS says 'why are they moving before us'?
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If you travel to France regularly you should get yourself a Telépeage badge. No need to queue as the lane is invariably empty. The first time that I used mine I was convinced it would fail. However, as you get about two feet from the barrier, there is a bleep from your badge and the barrier rises as if by a miracle.
Interestingly, the French watch a car with GB plates go through the Telépeage lane, convinced that you have made a fool of yourself ,and will have to reverse, ignominiously, out of the lane.
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Robbie
When I looked into it you needed a French Bank Account for a telepeage tag - is this still the case?
Ian
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Robbie When I looked into it you needed a French Bank Account for a telepeage tag - is this still the case? Ian
No, I use my Liverpool Victoria credit card, even though I have a French bank account. French banks charge for credit and debit cards so there is little point.
You can apply for a badge here www.sanef.fr/fr/index.jsp Mine arrived within about a week from when I applied.. You pay ?2 for every month that you use your badge and a deposit of ?30. As I travel alone, except for Charley, it has been a godsend.
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looked at the english version of the sanef site but still can't work out how to apply for the card. Can you point me in the right direction?
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looked at the english version of the sanef site but still can't work out how to apply for the card. Can you point me in the right direction?
Click on the Liber T, Telépeage flashing icon on the right hand side of the page when it appears. This brings you to a new page. On the right hand side you can choose to subscribe (souscrire) on line (en ligne) or by mail (par correspondence).
It may be easier for you to subscribe by mail. You print out the form and complete it. You need to make a copy of your credit card and enclose that with your application.
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I forgot to add that you should opt for "formule mensuelle" which is the monthly charge. The downloaded form is slightly different. You can of course choose to have an application form sent to you.
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Isn't there a height limit on the Telepeage lanes? Also "cars only"? So roofboxes/trailers/campervans can't use them - or is there a separate Telepeage lane for high/large vehicles?
--
Phil
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>>then that will be my car and an absolute gaurentee that it is in the slowest lane.
The slowest line will be the ones with the most cars in it. Or the one with the most cars in it will be the slowest. It doesn't matter which. If it has got the most cars in it then there is a statistically higher chance of you being in that queue rather than in any other. So statistically you are more often in the slow queue than not, more often in the longest queue than not, whilst conversely statistically the other lines will be shorter and faster. Not all the time, of course, but more often than not.
So, its true, most of the time you *ARE* in the slowest queue. As are we all.
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I'm a bit cautious about using my UK credit cards at any 'automated' site in France. I've had problems at both a petrol station and a toll station. The machines don't always work with UK credit cards - my bank tell me this is because the French chip system is slightly different to ours.
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>>The machines don't always work with UK credit cards - my bank tell me this is because the French chip system is slightly different to ours.
Yes they are different in as much they are far more secure . Our system of chip and pin cost less to implement , that is why we have had all the problems with card fraud lately concerning a well known fuel company.
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rustbucket (the original)
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I had suspicions that there was a statistical reason for me being in the slowest queue whilst in France about 3 weeks ago. So to disprove the theory I moved to the adjacent queue which was moving more quickly but interestingly as soon as I made the manoeuver it then became the slowest queue.
I put it down to me rather than statistics....
On the Telepeage note are the monthly subs limited to the one motorway franchise/company?
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On the Telepeage note are the monthly subs limited to the one motorway franchise/company?
No, it covers the whole of France, including bridges. I have used it on the Pont de Tancarville.
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Cut out this "statistical" rubbish, this "more often than not" hypothesis, dont mention "conversely" carp.
There is one simple irrifutable fact.
The slowest lane is the one I am in. Be that at the Peage, or Waitrose 5 items or less checkout lane.
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TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
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Found the link - will do it next time we go.
The page to subscrie is www.sanef.com/fr/ecommerce/particulier/index.jsp
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Having had my Sanef telepeage fail on me yesterday on my return from S of F, several words of advice......
The french were quite sympa when I had to reverse out of the T lane, altho I was waving the transponder out of the window and swearing at the same time.
The french autoroute network is regionalised, and the different operators issue different transponders. This is not a problem when they work, but if yours fails you cannot exchange it at a local operators office, outside the home region. If you spend your life in the south, and Sanef operate broadly to the North of Paris!
The only office that we were passing was the Boulogne office at the end of the journey (650miles), and like all French customer service operations they only work until 17.00 with a long lunch break. So do I wait til my next visit during office hours to Boulogne to exchange, or negotiate the french helpline on the telephone for a replacement unit?
The good news is that all manned peage toll booths at an exit point can use a bar code reader to read the account details from the back of the unit. A triumph for the use of old technology, and it allows you to get off the motorway without cas or CC.
And finally last night, the M25 reminded me why I prefer to live in France, but that can wait for another thread and some time to spare.
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pmh (was peter)
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