Portugal Motorway payment.
Hello we shall soon be setting of for a month in Portugal and I am having difficulty sorting out the payment for motorway tolls. We will be entering Portugal on normal roads at Miranda Do Douro.
We will be in Portugal for a month what do we do can you buy a vinette, register a credit card or as it were pay as you go.
Thanks
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We are doing the same in a few weeks. The 'experts' willl be on here soon but I saw a You Tube session about this recently and, to put it simply; if you enter Portugal on the main routes you will be directed to a special kiosk for non nationals where you register your Credit Card with your car number and the rest is taken care of!!
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You do need somebody to come on I`ve been studying it and the available information seems to be a "dogs dinner". As far as I can make out you are best signing up for the "Easy Toll System" there are four points entering the country where this can be done. Its a machine which accepts your credit card and links that to the cars number plate, there is a smallish charge and you need to keep the receipt as regular checks are made. As you pass under gantries on the motorway system you card is debited, one point worth noting is the system allows 30 days usage upon which it expires. This is the part I find difficult to get good info on some older motorways appear not to use "Easy Toll" and use a pre-payment lane called via Verde or similar, as far as I understand it this lane cannot be used without a prepayment card is there a manual toll booth????
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The point is from what I can see we will not be entering by motorway on the Michelin Map I have it isn't even a major road. I think the second stop after parking up will be to a tourist info place for some help.
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Don't know if this helps, but I'm looking at Portugal for next year and this site gives plenty of useful info, including maps and phone numbers to call for advice:
http://www.portugaltolls.com/en/web/portal-de-portagens/home
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When we went to Portugal last year we entered at a midway point from Spain, not on motorways but normal roads. The first 'toll' we paid cash at the booth as usual. Then we entered a section of' number plate recognition' couldn't find anywhere to register a CC so just kept on driving, we spent about a week in Portugal on all types of roads never did find anywhere to register and to date haven't received a summons. We have kept a record (somewhere) of the sections we were on just in case. If we ever go back will we be in bother.
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The whole system is indeed a dogs dinner of epic proportions!
My knowledge based on experience 4 years ago is:
1. The older (toll booth) systems require you to take a ticket and pay at the booth BUT there are some with "straight through" lanes at the left. These are mainly but not exclusively (?) in the middle of the country.
The rule on these sections is KEEP RIGHT and go through the booths as otherwise you will miss the ticket and then suffer at the next section when you will pay the "lost ticket" toll.
2. The newer "gantry" routes are, I believe the ones that were built with EU money and were supposed to be free.
When Portugal got into financial trouble, they invented the gantry ANPR system to allow tolling (the roads were never designed for this)
I believe Via Verde mentioned above in one of the several companies that run the toll roads.
The link above, which is live here:
http://www.portugaltolls.com/en/web/portal-de-portagens/home
is the starting point for the payment methods.
As well as linking your credit card, you can also open an account which you then add funds to. This obviously allows you to enter anywhere. it's a bit like pre-pay and you can get a refund for any unused amounts a few weeks after you leave the country.
The groups are even more arcane and I think some are based on axle height, meaning that tall vehicles (e.g. Discos etc) may be placed in a higher group but I don't think this is rigorously enforced as detection is obviously difficult.
3. The (impressive) Lisbon bridges are run by a separate company, not connected with the other main systems and again, to fool you, there are straight through lanes which you should not use otherwise you should go to the office at the Ponte 25 de Abril to pay the fine.
Now, this all assumes you want to try and respect the rules of the country you are visiting and I believe you can now be chased across Europe for some motoring charges (unsure if tolls are included?)
Hope this helps unless it has changed ;-)
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Thanks for all the help everyone. We think we will buy a tollticket(card) at Post Office near to border and then see how we go.
I have heard of a few people who didnt pay but usually like to stay legal wherever possible.
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