Renting a car in Italy

A question best asked of the actual agency Europcar?
And of the specific office location

A few years ago Europcar offered the telepass rental to corporate business travelers for 3.50 euro a day. Whether the telepass is still offered today, and if so, at what price, I don't know.
In any case, ragardless of price, I would consider it a totally unnecessary extra expense for the following reasons:
- Most tourists to Italy will not use the toll freeways (Autostrade) more than a handful of times, if that! Most destinations traveled by tourists are towns that don't require to take the autostrada, or if so, just occasionally. I go every year for at least 3 weeks, and rent cars for the entire period. I don't think I've gone through at toll gate more than 5 times in each trip.
- In most cases, there are no lines in the non telepass toll gates (the ones that take cash only or credit cards). The telepass gate has no lines of course, but even in my last trip this month, I never had more than one or two cars ahead of me in the non telepass gate (I always pay cash to the live person toll collector or to the cash machine). Actually If you go through the unmanned gates, there is rarely a car in line, as the only gate that may have more than one car long queue is the one manned by a live person (for some reason people still prefer the "human touch"). I went through the manned toll gate at Roma Nord (one of the busiest in the country) this Friday at peak time, around 5pm, and I was the 3rd car in the queue.
So paying even just 4 or 5 euro a day for something you will get to use maybe 4 or 5 times during an entire vacation and which will make you save, at most 30 seconds each time, is not worth it.

Below is the signage for the various types of toll gates. The white sign with the money icon means cash payment. If the money icon shows a black hand also, it means the gate is manned by a live person toll collector. If there is no black hand (only the money icon) it means it's a cash machine where you insert bills and coins (the machine gives change). These unmanned gates generally accept card payments too. Please note that the manned gates (black hand on white sign) accept hard cash only (no cards).

https://www.autostrade.it/en/il-pedaggio/pagamento-al-casello

I drove in Tuscany and Umbria recently. Paying tolls was simple. You take a ticket when you enter the tollroad, and pay when you leave (unlike in other countries where you have to stop and pay tolls along the way). I used cash and got change back.

thanks both!

looks like tolls is not a big issue. will carry cash.

We are driving from venice airport to dolomites and back.

If going from the airport to Cortina (Via the Autostrada A57), which I recommend as your first leg, the toll is €8.10. If you come back the same way, the amount is the same. If you do a loop via Bolzano or Trento and take the Autostrada from Bolzano all the way back to Venice, then the toll is in the €20 proximity. For example from the Bolzano Nord entrance to Venice airport it’s €20.50. As you can see, the distances may be substantial but the toll are not that huge and can be easily handled by cash. Save the credit card for more substantial purchases, like hotel and restaurant bills.

thanks for the info Roberto.

Yes Cortina and back - so will take the route you mention.

thx!

One more question: will be using google maps.

but any key traffic signs or patterns that might be different from here in the US, that I should note on the way to Cortina?

I would point out that the payment machine on the Autostrada that I encountered was the most confusing payment machine I have ever seen. There was one slot to put bills, another for coins (I think. It was overwhelming the first time and took two of us to figure it out.), a third slot to retreive bills, a forth slot to retrieve coins etc...

To make matters worse, after figuring out how and where to insert my highway ticket, a bin opened up in front of me. I'm still not sure what that was for. Somehow we managed to pay with a card and move on. There was someone at the machine for like 10 minutes when we first pulled up to the line. I didn't understand why until it was our turn. We were much faster, but it's not easy. Part of the travel experience though.

a bin opened up in front of me. I'm still not sure what that was for.

It was to pay using coins instead of notes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWD6dTpR2u8&ab_channel=leciogonek

You can use Google Maps, Waze, or whatever you wish. They all work.

Traffic signs in Europe are based on the International Road Signs stipulated at the UN Vienna convention of 1968. The US did not adopt that Convention, therefore only few international signs are in use in the US (for example the Stop sign or the No U turn sign or the Do Not Enter/Wrong Way sign). The international sign system is based on symbols rather than written words, most of those symbols are intuitive but you should become familiar with the system nevertheless:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Road_signs_in_Italy#Colours_and_shapes

Also many towns have restricted traffic in the historical core (only residents with permit, public transit, emergency vehicles can enter). Those zones (called Limited Traffic Zones or ZTL) are preceded by this sign. Park outside those zones and walk to those areas.

While driving on the freeway also remember that the left lane is for passing only, not for cruising. Use it to pass a vehicle then immediately return to the right lanes to permit to faster vehicles to pass you. Overtaking a vehicle from the right flank using the right lanes is prohibited.

Become familiar with driving on roundabouts. They are very common in Europe. Maybe you have some near home where you can practice.

I don’t find using the cash machine to pay toll confusing at all. Insert the ticket you have collected at the toll gate when you entered the freeway (don’t forget to pick it up or you will pay the longest distance possible from Sicily). That ticket indicates the point where you entered the freeway. The machine will read the entry ticket and the display will show the amount you owe (based on the distance traveled), insert the bill in the bills slot (and the coins in the coin slot). Collect the change if applicable. The barrier lifts and you are good to go. Instructions in the machine are in Italian and English, so you don’t even have the excuse of the language barrier. If you are familiar with purchasing soda at a soda vending machine so common also in America, you can use the toll payment machine.

One more note. Traffic laws are often enforced by hidden cameras (especially speed limits, red lights, bus lanes, ZTL entry). So don’t assume that if you don’t see a cop you are off the hook. There are about 35,000 hidden speed cameras on Italian roads.

It was to pay using coins instead of notes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWD6dTpR2u8&ab_channel=leciogonek

I am a bit puzzled by what happens in this video.

It appears the driver does not get a ticket back. What does he do at the next toll gate without a ticket to insert into a machine or present to a live toll collector?

You've received lots of good advice here from the experts. I may have overlooked this if it was mentioned previously, but don't forget to pack the compulsory International Driver's Permit for driving in Italy. Hefty fines paid on the spot if you're asked to produce one and don't have it! The IDP is used in conjunction with your home DL.

It appears the driver does not get a ticket back.

They are paying to exit the network, not entering, so they don't need a ticket. At 2:29 the driver puts the ticket into the slot right under the flashing arrow. That light is supposed to mean: "To calculate the toll and pay, start here".

In Tuscany a couple of months ago, we realized we forgot our cash and our credit cards didn’t work at that toll booth. I pressed the call button and managed to communicate I had no cash and card wasn’t working - a ticket came out and the gate opened. I later found out I just needed to pay the toll online in a few business days. After that we made sure we had cash. Actually the toll booths ended up being the best way to get change.

You can no longer rent a Telepass with your rental car (you used to be able to).

The credit card lines are usually much shorter.

Quick update:

we rented an automatic car at venice airport - 3 days - $1200 ( maxed out insurance etc)

driving to the dolomites was super easy

Advice about tolls above was perfect - see post from “Roberto da Firenze”

We paid by credit card.

On the way back we filled up gas at one of the manned gas stations on the toll road. easy.

Summary - driving in less urban areas is just like driving in the US - and with Google maps, life is easy.

ps: I would not drive in city centers like Milan. The traffic patterns, trams were a bit confusing.

Safe travels!