European Road Tolls – prices and all you need to know

If you’re planning a trip to the Europe, then you need to know that most of the roads were originally constructed as toll roads in order to bring in the costs of construction.

However the are some countries like Belgium, Germany, Sweden or Netherlands were highways are free of charge.

Inautonews presents you a complete list of non-free European countries and all you need to know when you travel on those countries.

Portugal road tolls

In Portugal a certain number of roads are designated as Toll-Roads. They charge a fixed value per kilometer distance, with several classes depending on vehicle type and regulated by the government. Brisa – Auto-estradas de Portugal, S.A. is Portugal-based international transportation company. The group’s largest business area is highway management, in which it is the largest concessionaire in its home country.

All Brisa motorways have common signs directing the client to the right toll booth passage according to his means of payment.

Toll rates are determined by multiplying a unit tariff/kilometre by the number of travelled kilometres. To this amount adds VAT at the legal rate in force.

TOLL RATES

• Toll Calculator - Click here
• Download all toll rates - Click here

SPAIN road tolls

There are a number of toll roads throughout Spain and the AP7 is the toll road that stretches along the Costa del Sol.
The tolls are expensive, especially in summer when the rates are doubled and are usually calculated per km. Some toll roads, for long distance travelling allow you to collect a ticket at the start and then pay the total when you exit the road.
The toll is € 9.55 if you use the A6/AP6 motorway. You get a ticket on entering the toll area just like entering a parking garage. On leaving the toll zone you will pay either at the manned cashier by showing the ticket and pay the toll or on automated exits by inserting the ticket into a machine and paying the amount by credit card. Mastercard and Visa work perfect, Maestro is not accepted.

Spanish toll roads (or autopistas) are signaled AP-XX (where XX is the number of the road) as opposed to State-maintained freeways (or autovías), called A-XX.

TOLL RATES

• Toll Calculator - Click here

France road tolls

In Europe, the most substantial use of toll roads is in France; the country carry quite heavy tolls
Toll autoroutes (French equivalent of motorways) are signalled with the word péage (toll).

Most autoroutes are toll roads, but a few are free, particularly in the Brittany region, where most of the autoroutes still belong to the government.

The cost of autoroute travel for a car without caravan or trailer is about 1 €uro for 10 miles. For example, in January 2011, motorway tolls on the 1060 km trip from Calais to Marseille, via Paris, almost all of it on toll motorways, cost 79.80 €uros, about £65.

The average cost per kilometre depends on the proportion of the journey using free motorways or other roads.

Tolls can be paid by cash, cheque, or credit card, including Carte Bleue, Visa, Eurocard, Mastercard, and most private credit cards (Total, DKV, UTA, etc.).
Your account will be debited in the currency in which it is held (euro, franc, lira, DM, dollar, pound, etc.).
You can use a pre-printed cheque made out in euros; the cheque must be endorsed “payable in France”. You can pay in Euro Traveller’s Cheques, except on the Escota network (the A8 Aix-Nice; A50-A52-A57 Toulon area; A51 Sisteron).

Mont Blanc Tunnel – A car costs about 35 euro single or 45 return. Speed limits are 50 km/h minimum and 70 maximum. In addition you must leave a gap of 150 metres between you and the vehicle in front. These rules are rigorously enforced and monitored with cameras. Fines are heavy and payable on the spot.

For a detailed route, use the route-finder map and distance calculator page on About-France.com. or http://www.autoroutes.fr/en/preparatives/routes.html

Switzerland road tolls

To use a motorway in Switzerland a ‘vignette’ pass must be displayed in the windscreen. This will cost you 40SwF ($27) and can be obtained from the Swiss National Tourism Offices, or when you enter in the country.
There is only the 1-year vignette valid from 1 December of the preceding year until 31 January of the following year.

The vignette price does not include driving through the following tunnels: Grand St. Bernhard Tunnel and Munt la Schera. A special toll must be paid there.

Grand St. Bernhard Tunnel: A2 class: one way 22,10 € / RETURN WITHIN 30 DAYS: 35€

Belgium road tolls

There are no toll highways in Belgium.

The only place where you need to pay is the Liefenhoeks Tunnel. As of 2010, the toll was set at EUR 5.50 for vehicles lower than 2.75 meters, and EUR 18 for taller vehicles.

UK road tolls

The M6 Toll (or Birmingham North Relief Road (BNRR)), connects M6 Junction 4 at the NEC to M6 Junction 11A at Wolverhampton with 27 miles (43 km) of six-lane motorway. The weekday cash cost is £5 for a car and £10 for a HGV. The M6 Toll is part of the (unsigned in the UK) E-road E05 and is subject to the same regulations and policing as other motorways in the UK.

Ireland road tolls

According to Wikipedia, in Ireland the road-toll system is on from 1984.

In general toll roads in Ireland impose a toll (levy or charge) on each vehicle using these roads. The National Roads Authority (NRA) in Ireland has responsibility for overseeing the implementation of tolling throughout Ireland.

There are currently (June 2010) 9 toll roads in the Republic of Ireland with the toll for a standard passenger car ranging from €1.70 to €10.

The current tolled roads are as follows:

- East Link (Dublin City)
- M50 (Dublin West)
- M1 (Drogheda Bypass, County louth)
- M4 (County Meath)
- M6 (County Galway)
- M7/M8 Junction (County Laois)
- M8 (County Cork)
- M25 (Waterford City Bypass)
- Dublin Port Tunnel (Dublin City)

Penalties for not paying toll fees
All motorists who are liable to pay toll fees and who fail, neglect or refuse to pay them are guilty of an offence. They are liable on summary conviction in a District Court to a fine not exceeding €1,270.

Denmark road tolls

Denmark is one of five countries that operate the Eurovignette toll system. Heavy goods vehicles and vehicle combinations with a maximum admissible weight from 12 tons must have a valid Eurovignette

For vehicles registered in Denmark the charge is paid for the right to use the whole Danish road network. The charge is paid once a year in advance together with weight tax.

For foreign vehicles there is no road tax. However, there are two bridges.

The Øresund Bridge (locally called Øresundsbron) is the bridge that connects Amager and Oresund in Denmark (on the island Zealand) with Skane, Sweden, in a total length of just over 10 miles (16,4 km).
Prices:

The other is the Storebælt: The 18 km long bridge across Storebælt (the Great Belt Bridge) links the eastern and western parts of Denmark together. The bridge is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year and is closed only on very rare occasions.

Norway road tolls

There are around 50 toll stations in Norway. Most of them have automatic fee collection and some have lanes for AutoPASS and for manual payment.

Prices «Visitors’ Payment»
Lightweight vehicle < 3 500 kg NOK 300,-
Heavyweight vehicle > 3 500 kg NOK 1 000,-

other prices:

prices in Norwegian Kroner

updates for A / CZ / SK / H / SER / G are coming