Free-flow tolling for smoother, stress-free and more eco-friendly journey

The payments methods made available by concession companies are: electronic toll payment with a tag, payment on the website of the motorway company concerned (sanef.com or aliae.com) or payment using cash or by credit card in a network of local shops (the Nirio network). To do this, you just have to enter or provide your number plate to find out the amounts payable for the vehicle. This payment must take place within 72 hours of travel.In addition, payment terminals accessible on foot have been installed for the A79 pending the roll-out of payment options in local shops. However, these terminals will soon be phased out.

A toll tag is the most reliable and practical way to pay free-flow tolls, but this isn’t obligatory. Other payment methods are available (please see Question No.°1). A toll tag is useful for automatic payment, meaning you can travel on networks managed by different companies and be invoiced a single monthly bill. The tag can be used on all motorway networks in France and Europe in accordance with the terms of the contracts entered into. Concessions for certain categories of users or frequency of travel are also available on the companies’ websites.

You don’t have to register online to travel or pay the toll. It’s just an option made available by companies to simplify the process for users travelling on their network. By registering online, you can receive reminders after each trip or set up automatic payment which means that the toll will be debited directly from your account after each journey. Registration is free. If you don’t register online before travelling, you have to remember to pay for your journey within 72 hours yourself. This is done by logging on to the motorway company’s website (sanef.com or aliae.com) or going to a shop in the Nirio network.

If you travel along a free-flow motorway, the passage of a vehicle is picked up by the number plate being read on the different sections. This is used to calculate the amount of toll due. Users then pay the toll using the payment method of their choice.

There’s additional information about free-flow tolls on the websites of the concession companies concerned (sanef.com and aliae.com). These companies' helplines can also be contacted to assist users in resolving their problems. For Sanef: +33 (0)9 708 08 709, Monday to Saturday 8.00 am to 8.00 pm, for Aliaé: +33 (0)8 06 00 50 05, Monday to Friday 8.30 am to 6.30 pm.

Registration is not required for using a free-flow toll motorway (please see Question No.3). However, if you do not subscribe to an electronic toll collection service or an automatic payment or alert scheme, there is no invoicing or toll information message to remind you to pay. In this case, it is imperative that you take the necessary steps to pay within 72 hours of travel.

At the moment, the motorways with a free-flow toll system are the A79 in the Allier department (the company concerned is Aliae), and the A13/A14 main highway between Paris and Caen, where it is being gradually introduced from 2024 onwards (the company concerned is Sanef). Any motorway projects in the future will also have a free-flow toll system. Finally, the Boulay interchange on the A4 also has a free-flow toll system (the company concerned is Sanef).

Free-flow toll motorways can be identified by a sign indicating that toll payment is compulsory. This is shown by a round regulatory sign with the word ‘PÉAGE’ (toll) on a blue background, with the words ‘flux libre’ (free-flow) underneath. A number of signs also explain how to pay.

Image transcription : Free-flow motorways: how it works

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Image transcription : Free-flow motorways: how it works

First of all, road signs indicate where a free toll motorway section begins and ends.
Overhead gantries on the free-flow toll section automatically detect your passage or your vehicle type.
Data processing within the free-flow toll system fully complies with the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) - 
At the end of the free-flow motorway section, the toll due is automatically calculated.
Drivers have 72 hours to make the payment.
Find out more at peage-flux-libre.gouv.fr 
 

The State is committed to the development of free-flow toll motorways due to the time saved, safety and fuel savings offered by the removal of toll barriers. In addition, the lack of toll barriers limits the consumption of natural space and frees up former toll booth sites. In this way, free-flow tolls form part of the ‘zero net artificialisation’ objective.

The system allows road users to reduce the time taken and the fuel used when passing through toll barriers, as well as the risks and associated inconveniences (braking, loss of tickets, incidents in toll lanes, collisions, etc.). Fuel savings are estimated, for example, at around 0.5 litres per HGV passing through a toll barrier. At the scale this occurs on the A13/A14 main highway, the estimated saving is 9.5 million litres of fuel.

This system is more free-flowing as it removes the need to slow down and stop at numerous toll booths to obtain tickets or pay, which results in congestion.
 

This system enables road users to save fuel by eliminating phases of braking and re-acceleration. The system also means time can be saved on a journey. More generally, this system results in energy savings and therefore lower greenhouse gas emissions from internal combustion engines.
 

Payment methods are the same as those for a user with their own vehicle who doesn’t have a subscription or an account for the latter. In the case of a hire car, when entering the number plate, you can also select the time period during which the vehicle was hired. With this option, only the tolls for journeys made during this period appear.

The payment methods available are the three main types: electronic toll payment, payment via the website of the motorway company concerned (sanef.com or aliae.com) using a credit card and entering your number plate details, and payment with cash or a credit card at local shops that are part of the Nirio network.
 

You don’t have to have access to the internet to pay for a free-flow toll. It is possible to use electronic toll collection as a subscriber. In addition, the option to pay in cash in a local shop that is part of the Nirio network is always available. This network of local shops accepting payment is indicated on signs along the route and on the website of the company concerned (sanef.com or aliae.com).

If you don’t pay the toll within 72 hours, the concessions company draws up a report and sends a notice to pay to the holder of the vehicle registration certificate. This notice includes the amount of the unpaid toll, plus a flat-rate penalty of €90, reduced to €10 if payment is made within 15 days. If the fine is not paid within two months, an additional fixed fine of €375 will be issued.
 

The notice to pay is sent by post. It will also be indicated as amounts due when making payments on the website of the concessions company that issued it (sanef.com or aliae.fr).
 

Electronic toll collection is the most practical payment method for free-flow tolls. Your toll tag will remain valid. The only thing to remember is to keep it correctly fixed to the windscreen throughout your journey.

When the computer system belonging to the concessions company reads the number plate of a passing vehicle, it also tries to detect a tag. If one is there and it is correctly fixed to the windscreen, the system will make the link between the passing vehicle and the tag. No further action needs to be taken. Free-flow tolls will appear on the monthly statement in the same way as tolls with a barrier.
A tag which is not fixed to the windscreen cannot be detected and will mean that its owner is in danger of payment default.
 

Toll tags for tolls with a barrier and free-flow tolls are exactly the same. They are therefore mutually compatible and compatible across the different motorways in France and Europe, depending on the terms of the contracts signed.
 

The system only collects data necessary for toll payment, data about the vehicle travelling on the motorway (photo, number plate and model) and the time and place of travel. Following payment of the toll and at the end of necessary retention periods, such as that for handling complaints, this information is deleted.
 

Personal data collected for the free-flow system is data that is essential to its operation and is deleted as soon as this data is no longer required. Users are protected by the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), meaning their data cannot be used for any other purpose.

The concession companies are subject to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which requires a high level of data security and a retention period limited to that which is strictly necessary. The risks are therefore minimal. In addition, only a user providing proof of ownership of the vehicle will be able to obtain detailed information on the vehicle's movements. The concession companies’ privacy policies are available on their websites (sanef.com or aliae.com).

If there is doubt about the amount owed or the cost of a toll, the customer service department of the company concerned can be contacted to rectify an error using the contact form on its website (sanef.com or aliae.com) or by telephone (for Sanef: +33 (0)9 708 08 709, Monday to Saturday 8.00 am to 8.00 pm, for Aliaé: +33 (0)8 06 00 50 05, Monday to Friday 8.30 am to 6.30 pm).

All data can be accessed if you have a customer account, a subscription or can provide proof of ownership of the vehicle (registration certificate). If a user does not want to provide the concessions company with their registration certificate, they will not be able to access the general information (total toll to be paid instead of details of the journey, for example), for privacy protection reasons.
 

If there are any issues regarding the toll amount due, the costs can be viewed on the concessions company’s website and its customer service department can be contacted in case of error. If you have an account with the company, you can access all the information and contact details in your customer account.

When you receive a notice to pay (including a surcharge), it must contain a dispute card containing all the information and contacts needed to contest the notice.

If the toll is not paid within the stipulated timeframe of 72 hours, the user is liable for the amount of the toll plus an additional fixed amount. It is therefore important to make sure you pay the toll within the timeframe. The concession companies offer various subscription and reminder systems to avoid ending up in this situation.

Subscribing to an electronic toll collection service and travelling with a toll tag correctly fixed to the windscreen means no other action needs to be taken, regardless of the network you are travelling on.
If you do not subscribe to an electronic toll collection service, you can sign up for free to an email reminder system on each of the websites of the concession companies concerned in order to avoid forgetting to pay the toll and being liable to pay an additional fixed amount. It is also possible to register your vehicle using a credit card so you don't have to do anything about the free-flow toll system belonging to the company with whom you have registered.

Due to personal data protection issues, you can only access detailed toll statements if you have an account or a subscription with the concession company. If you have the former, all information can be found in your account. 
For online payments without an account or to the Nirio network a standard receipt will be issued for the amounts paid.