French toll roads.

[betty swollocks]

What's the deal: how do they work?
Are they manned or womanned, or are there machines?
Do they take cash, notes, cards?
Thanks in advance.

 

[slowmotion]

Some are "personed" with toll booths. You can pay with cards or cash. Some have a gadget that you just chuck cash into. If you chuck the right amount or more into it, the barrier lets you through as if by magic.

EDIT: It's a very good idea to have some cash. We hired a car at Bergerac airport and set off without any local currency. At the first toll booth (unmanned) I tried to pay with a card that wasn't recognised. There was a long line of cars waiting behind us. An extremely generous Brit in the car behind gave me some Euros to escape. Chapeau that man!

 

[threebikesmcginty]

The main thing to do is don't lose your ticket or you'll get charged for the longest possible journey on that road. Bastards!

 

[John the Monkey]

Watch out if you have bikes on the roof too - on one of the autoroutes we travelled on, all the "Card Only" booths had height restrictions (2m) - taller than a car, but too low for a car with bikes on the roof, as my brother in law found out....

 

[User169]

What's the deal: how do they work?
Are they manned or womanned, or are there machines?
Do they take cash, notes, cards?
Thanks in advance.

All of the above!

The quickest optiion is to get a widget in your car which is automatically recognized and the relevant amount deducted from your credit card.

 

[User269]

Usually, as you enter the network, you just take a ticket from a machine. Later, or when leaving the network you'll have to pay. There are no tolls around major towns and cities. There are signs above the booths for you to choose a person, cash, credit card or combinations of those. See also here for more info, including traffic forecasts, fees etc.
We use an electronic tag which is much quicker, avoids queueing, and reducese stress on longer journeys.

 

[betty swollocks]

Thank you all very much.
That's a great help.

 

[threebikesmcginty]

All of the above!

The quickest optiion is to get a widget in your car which is automatically recognized and the relevant amount deducted from your credit card.

Went up to Norway last week, if I haven't mentioned it before , with a guy from Sweden, he had a widget stuck to his windscreen, meant you can just drive straight through the autopay lanes, smart enough.

 

[yello]

IF on a motorcycle, you ought pass through the right-most gate or risk being charged as a car

 

[Andrew_P]

I found the unmanned ones where easier, but make sure you have a debit card, I found they we not keen on Credit cards also the same applied for the unmanned Supermarket petrol stations some seemed ok with Credit Cards and others just debit cards. You grab a ticket when joining or during a motorway journey and then pay when you leave. The passenger needs to do all the work anyway

 

[yello]

The passenger needs to do all the work anyway

Good point! Though some nearer Calais have machines on both sides of the lane for rhd vehicles. These lanes are marked with a Union Jack.