Michael

<i>If you use one in someone else’s car you can be fined for that too. Or there would be a black market in these devices.</i>

I don't get it. The money is automatically deducted from the account to which the transponder is tied. Why should the authorities be worried that someone else is using it?

ribeirasacra

Michel you don't have to get it, If it is the law it is the law.
I have asked for confirmation about this as it is not clear.

ribeirasacra

Latest news:
NOTE THIS ARE NOT IN PLACE:

This I feel is an illustration on how that the whole thing is in utter confusion.
The latest idea is to allow the renting of transponders out. To do this you have to stop at a service station before entering the toll zone. Rent a transponder and drive the stretch of highway. Stop at the service station outside off the toll area and return the transponder. Obviously this could add time to your journey.
http://www.lavozdegalicia.es/galicia...2G17P11992.htm


Please do not shoot the messenger on this subject. It is not my fault I am just bringing it to your attention. Equipped with this information hopefully you will not be fined.

lowcountrycarol

I do not know if it will help any travelers but I arrive in Portugal on April 19th just about the time all this will be in place or about to be at Easter. I will be renting a car at the airport in Lisbon and will try to determine in advance what is necessary.

We will be headed to our home in the Algarve and use the toll motorway but at the end we drive a portion of the Via do Infante which is to have this new system in place. If necessary we may have to get off the toll road early and head south on a slightly different route. I will post here what I find out in April about how to easily get these transponders .

ribeirasacra

Thank you carol...when you post back the hire company would be nice to know. I got a feeling there is not going to be an industry response to this.

ribeirasacra

More news.
The tourism association for Portugal say that overnight stays in North Portugal have dropped by 18%. They say it is because of the new tolls. I wonder how they come to that conclusion?
http://www.lavozdegalicia.es/galicia...02G19P6993.htm

iris1745

Not good. Looks like many of the tolls take place on April 15th. http://thereader.es/spain-news-stori...motorways.html

ribeirasacra

iris;
thank you for posting that. Did you notice the date of the article? 16 October 2010. The links I have posted are in Spanish and relate to that time when Galicia saw the impact of first days of these tolls in the North. I have been stating all along these tolls or rather the method of payment is not clear or easy.
Some of the information stated in the article is not quite factual if you read the Spanish newspapers. I believe them more as they are not translated into English.
I am not writing for the fun of it Vacationers must be aware of this.

iris1745

ribeirasacra; People going to Portugal need your input on this issue. Thanks

ribeirasacra

More information on the Portuguese toll roads. This is in English- hopefully more of you will understand just how complicated this is.
http://www.algarveresident.com/story.asp?XID=40649

tidy

lowcountrycarol, I hope that you will tell us what has happened with the tolls while you were in Portugal. I believe you are renting in Portugal; we will be renting in Spain but driving to Portugal so I am wondering how that will work.

ribeirasacra

I posted this recently.
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...toll-roads.cfm

tidy

So, take this to mean that when we come to Evora and travel to Lisbon we will be okay with not having tolls but when we travel north of Lisbon we will encounter tolls. I certainly don't mind paying a toll just want the process to pay clear.

lreynold1

Hi, tidy, You will pay tolls driving on many of the "super highways" (roads beginning with an A, such as A-2, A-1, etc). From Evora to Lisbon there are tolls, but you will pick up a ticket from the machine when you get on the road, and be able to pay a person in a toll booth when you get off.

What is new is that there are now some toll roads that do not have any way to pay tolls other than with a transponder attached to the windshield. I was recently in Portugal and explained the situation in this post:

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...toll-booth.cfm

It's not too difficult, but it is an inconvenience. Hope this helps, Laurie

SashieZ

I just returned from Portugal and we rented a car for three days. When I picked up the car in lisbon, I asked the representative how to handle the tolls. He said, you will receive a ticket and further on pay at the manned booth. The look he gave me was "stupid American". We drove from Lisbon to Sintra and Sintra to Obidos and had no problems with tolls. However, cannot say about outside of this area.

lreynold1

Hi, Sashie,

As others have commented, it's kind of amazing how there is a total lack of information from the car rental agencies. I don't know if this means that the system isn't yet tracking cars that don't pay as they go through, because if a rental car agency found itself with hundreds of euros in unpaid tolls on one of its cars, it would do something quickly.

I can tell you for sure that the new system is in effect, and that the way to pay is the way I described in the post I linked to in my previous message, but what I can't tell you is whether the toll authority is actually enforcing the system against cars that don't pay. That would get the car rental agencies' attention, I'm pretty sure.

Any more updates, ribeirasacra or others?

tidy

We leave next week so this info is helpful.

tidy

we are in portugal aS I write. we have driven from Evora to Lisbon with no problems with toll charges. when you go through the tolls just make certain that you get in the lane which allows you to get a ticket. It appears that locals use another lane because they have a device that automatically charges them. I can only assume it will be the same when we go north but I will let you know if it is any different.

ribeirasacra

Tidy I am sorry To say this yet again, but the southern roads have not had the electronic tolls installed on what are toll free roads yet. Your experience so far is on an existing toll road where manned booths have ben installed from the opening of the roads.
The Northern roads experience will depend on which roads you take. I wait for your report.

ribeirasacra

Latest update (in Spanish) A22 in the south to be tolled by the end of 2011.
http://www.huelvainformacion.es/arti...ir/altura.html