Here in the States, some car rental agencies provide for an automatic tollroad-paying device as part of the rental. (In New Jersey, the device is referred to as EZ Pass.) Any tolls incurred are later added to the final rental cost.
Do any of the rental agencies serving France offer a similar device? (Or do you pay the tolls in EU as you encounter the tollbooths?)
TY,
JM
I have never heard of it being provided, but it's a good idea!
We have our own EZ pass, good on all French toll roads that we bring back over with us yearly, so it does exist, but not in rentals or leased cars.
Bets:
TY! That's interesting.
Wonder if I could buy/rent one, and bring it over just for the rental.
But going to first read up on how difficult it is to navigate French toll plazas.
It's very easy to pay the tolls in € as you encounter them. I drove all around France and kept a plastic baggie of € coins in the glove box. All toll plazas have at least one lane to pay with cash and I found that the easiest for me.
The badge for France is called 'Liber-T' and usable on all toll motorways and in some car parks. I am not sure if they will issue them outwith the European Union. Possiblye it is worth e-mailing the main motorway companies to see that they can do. They are SANEF, APRR, Vinci Autoroutes.
I am surprised that the main car hire firms do not rent out, or make available to rent, the badges with hire cars in France.
From the answers so far, it sounds like you will need t pay at tollbooths.
As of a few years ago, and I think this is still the situation currently, the automatic pay machines at the toll booths did not accept American credit cards (the pin/chip versus magnetic stripe issue that has been frequently discussed here).
Here's a link for the French version of EZ-Pass that was referred to by someone else: http://www.telepeagepourtous.fr/fr/particulier/toutes_nos_offres/formule_balade
Last October we rented a car for 2 weeks to drive in central France. I had specifically gotten a chip&pin MasterCard a few weeks before we left, to use in toll plazas. However, at each plaza [and we probably went through a dozen], there was a big X through the Visa and MasterCard logos, and my cc didn't work.
Fortunately, cash did. We used a mix of bills and coins. I think we used a 20 euro bill at least once when the charge was about 15 euros, and got change back. Just be sure you don't get in the line with the "t" symbol - those are the ez-pass lanes. I was worried about getting confused but had no problem.
Yep, just get in the cash lanes.
For European travel, it's what the Army taught me a long time ago: Keep It Simple.
Cash.
Fewer surprises that way.
Enhances trip enjoyment.
Thanks for all of the helpful information.
Sounds like it will be cash payment for us.
I've used Via Michelin to print out maps and directions and listed on this are the toll booth locations as well as toll costs. My sidekick would have the cash ready as we entered the toll booths. They have always been spot on.
