ALIAE-A79: new services for customers on the free-flow toll motorway

There are now five options available for paying for journeys made on the 88 km of France's first free-flow toll motorway, which opened on 4 November 2022: the A79 linking Digoin (Saône-et-Loire) and Montmarault (Allier):
- Local payment: free-flow tolls can be paid in cash or by bank card at tobacconists and Nirio (FDJ group) approved local shops throughout France, within 72 hours.
- Electronic toll collection: the electronic toll collection badge, irrespective of the supplier, is detected each time it passes under a gantry, enabling automatic monthly invoicing of journeys. This is the safest and simplest method of payment. To obtain an electronic toll tag: Fulli.com(link is external).
- Plate registration: customers enter their number plate and bank details beforehand on the aliae.com website(link is external). The number plate detected on each journey is recognised and automatically billed on a weekly basis.
- Online payment: users who have not registered for electronic toll collection can pay for their journey directly on the aliae.com website(link is external) by entering their number plate (within 72 hours).
- Payment at a terminal: payment terminals located at each service area and car park on the A79 allow unregistered users not equipped with electronic toll collection to pay for their journey in cash or by bank card, within 72 hours.

Reinforced communication to support customers
Since the opening of the A79, the ALIAE and APRR teams have been fully mobilised to support our customers, whether occasional or regular, French or foreign, who are not yet fully familiar with the new payment methods on offer," says Guillaume Hérent, Chairman of ALIAE and Managing Director of APRR.
He adds: "We are aware that each breakthrough innovation must be supported over time, with conviction and perseverance. With free flow, we don't want to leave anyone by the side of the road.
 "At our initiative, the road signs have been modified and their number will be increased to provide more visible information listing all the payment methods now available. Our aim is to innovate to make the motorway ever smoother, safer and more responsible", concludes Guillaume Hérent.
 
The motorway of tomorrow
Free flow (which does not mean free tolls) means that traffic flows more smoothly and reduces the risk of accidents and carbon emissions, thanks to the removal of barriers. They are replaced by gantries spanning the lanes and equipped with cameras and intelligent sensors that scan electronic toll badges and number plates. The information is automatically cross-checked, analysed and validated to trace the vehicle's journey on the motorway and the associated cost.
A new web page dedicated to the tolls of tomorrow peagereinvente.aprr.fr(link is external) presents the technology and benefits of free flow, as well as those of ticketless entry, in a fun and educational way. This new innovation will soon be rolled out on a large part of the AREA network in the Rhône-Alpes region.

ALIAE, AREA and APRR, Eiffage's motorway concessions in France, are re-inventing toll collection and foreshadowing the motorway of the future.
 
 
Photo credit © APRR/William Chareyre