Algarve Road Tolls

[colhel]

Sorry to drag an old thread up again.
We may be down this way on our UK registered motorbike in April. Has the payment method been made any easier yet? Since the the tolls were introduced I've only had hire cars and avoided A22.

 

[GrahamM376]

Sorry to drag an old thread up again.
We may be down this way on our UK registered motorbike in April. Has the payment method been made any easier yet? Since the the tolls were introduced I've only had hire cars and avoided A22.

Most people I know with UK reg cars just ignore the tolls and have so far got away with it. Non payment is AFAIK a civil rather than police matter and no, they haven't made payment any easier for visitors. The N125 has recently been upgraded and is of course the alternative "no toll" route.

 

[colhel]

Thanks Graham, we'll probably stay with the alternative, just in case.

 

[PlanB]

You can buy scratch cards for toll charges at motorway service stations. You just text the reg no and the code on the scratch card to the number on the card.

 

[maxi77]

Most people I know with UK reg cars just ignore the tolls and have so far got away with it. Non payment is AFAIK a civil rather than police matter and no, they haven't made payment any easier for visitors. The N125 has recently been upgraded and is of course the alternative "no toll" route.

Though they have no direct follow up system yet, they do keep records and there have been reports of foreign cars being stopped by the GNR for other reasons and the back fine due is checked by the GNR and the vehicle impounded till payment is maid, and as I have personal experience of how the fine multiplies with time after a problem with my Portuguese road tax.

 

[GrahamM376]

With Portuguese reg car and bank account it shouldn't be a problem, I have the windscreen dongle and tolls for motorways and some car parks are collected by dd each month.

 

[greeny]

We drive down to Portugal and back each year in our car from the uk and keep our stay under 6 months to avoid the matriculation issues. My wife has registered the registration (British) number at the Post Office and it is now recognised in the toll system. She logs onto the system via the internet a few days after we've used the toll roads and pays using her credit card. I think you can also load it up with a credit using this system. Seems to work well. No problems with it for the last three years since we registered the number. If It was only for a one off journey though I'd probably risk it as they won't have your reg number and are unlikely to try to track you back to the UK system I would think.

 

[RAI]

We drive down to Portugal and back each year in our car from the uk and keep our stay under 6 months to avoid the matriculation issues. My wife has registered the registration (British) number at the Post Office and it is now recognised in the toll system. She logs onto the system via the internet a few days after we've used the toll roads and pays using her credit card. I think you can also load it up with a credit using this system. Seems to work well. No problems with it for the last three years since we registered the number. If It was only for a one off journey though I'd probably risk it as they won't have your reg number and are unlikely to try to track you back to the UK system I would think.

That's good news. It was a pain when the choice was between the Post Office and the motorway service stations. Can you buy the electronic tag for your British registered car too?

 

[greeny]

Don't know about buying the electronic tag, we've never looked into it as the internet system works well for us. If you do it the way we do, you need to take your registration document (V ? whatever) for the car with you to the post office when you first enroll, to prove the registration for the vehicle is yours, along with your passport.

 

[colhel]

Probably worth mentioning in case anyone reading this is reading this and doesn't know the situation that this only applies to the A22, all other toll roads, as far as I'm aware anyway, have normal booths and are hassle free. There is an alternative route , the N125 which is toll free, but is easy to get lost (easy for me anyway)

 

[Ludd]

Probably worth mentioning in case anyone reading this is reading this and doesn't know the situation that this only applies to the A22, all other toll roads, as far as I'm aware anyway, have normal booths and are hassle free. There is an alternative route , the N125 which is toll free, but is easy to get lost (easy for me anyway)

The N125, which I use on the rare occasions that I drive, is in extremely bad condition and is being allowed to deteriorate further. I think it is deliberate policy. Given the large number of less than competent drivers who use it, it is not surprising that it has a high accident rate. I speak as someone who has driven too many miles on just about every road in Europe. At one time the most dangerous road in Portugal was the IP5. I suspect it is now the N125.

 

[GrahamM376]

The N125, which I use on the rare occasions that I drive, is in extremely bad condition and is being allowed to deteriorate further.

That's totally wrong, sounds to me that you haven't driven the N125 for a year or two. It has been vastly upgraded with many junctions now roundabouts, lots of resurfacing and widened in places. The work is still ongoing.

 

[GrahamM376]

Probably worth mentioning in case anyone reading this is reading this and doesn't know the situation that this only applies to the A22, all other toll roads, as far as I'm aware anyway, have normal booths and are hassle free. There is an alternative route , the N125 which is toll free, but is easy to get lost (easy for me anyway)

There are similar problems on some of the northern motorways, IIRC it depends whether it's a BRISA or SCUT motorway but the tags work on all. On some you use the ViaVerde lane past toll booths and on others the overhead gantrys clock the car.

I wasn't aware of the on-line payment option as greeny mentions, that wasn't the case when they first introduced tolls. When we bought our tag a few years ago, friends with UK cars were then told they couldn't use them as the system didn't recognise foreign plates. If greeny can now pay on line that presumably has changed so worth enquiring.

 

[RAI]

That's totally wrong, sounds to me that you haven't driven the N125 for a year or two. It has been vastly upgraded with many junctions now roundabouts, lots of resurfacing and widened in places. The work is still ongoing.

I remember Ludd taking me via the N125 to the airport just before Christmas. As you say, work is still ongoing.

 

[25931]

I remember Ludd taking me via the N125 to the airport just before Christmas. As you say, work is still ongoing.

The 125 is being improved, albeit slowly and the CM said last Sunday that Portugal´s most dangerous road is the A1.