Portugese Toll 8/7/16

[Gasman]

Hello all - so not so much "Living in Andalucía" as travelling out ... we went to Loulé on Friday 8/7/16 on the Motorway A22. We have been before to the airport at Faro and to Almancil, and since we do not have a credit card are always unable to pre-pay on line, nor can we pay at the Toll-Booth at the border. No problem - we always call in at the Services at Olahao and pay either cash or debit card there.

Not this time - the lads there said they had run out of pre-paid cards but handed over a slip of paper with the web-page for us to pay on line. We did check - OK for debit cards? "Oh, yes, no problem, that is what it is designed for ..... You have to wait 48 hours for your trip to get into the system, then you log on, fill in the details, of the car and the trip, and pay ...."

So Monday, all day the webpage was down "for maintenance" !!!! Since first thing today, Tuesday, I have been phoning the help line, because although the webpage is now functioning, Tuesday, it won't take DEBIT cards ...!!!! So I am stressed, can't pay the toll, look forward to a massive fine, and am firing off email, and registered letter to the good folk in Portagem/Portugal Tolls to try to pay ...

Anybody else had this experience this weekend? I can only imagine the number of people in a similar situation at what must be one of the busiest weekends of the year for people nipping across to the Algarve, and to-ing and fro-ing.

As a final insult, apart from not being able to pay, we only went and came back - Loulé Junction 12 return trip but they are charging 23.23 euros !!! and they are charging for three viajes! How can automatic gantry cameras make a mistake?
Gasman

Edit - so I have since read on the initial page of the website that they declare that it IS possible to pay by either credit OR debit card in that site, so I tried yet again with the first card ... and it worked!! So now I now longer fear a fine, but would still like to know how they got to the 23.23 euros and 3 voyages

[pilgrim2]

OOH I am off down there on Saturday, Like you I always pay the service station.

In the past when the machine has been down they have given me a scratch card and I had to pay on line via my mobile.

I have met a few people who say they never pay......

I have not yet heard on anyone receiving a fine, have you?

[Gasman]

No but then we don't talk a lot to folk from over here who would pay - most locals just go to Tavira, or use the old road - dreadful road .... But it certainly would seem that Portugal would have no problem tracking one down via the car registration these days. I really did not want to take the risk! With a fine 10 times the toll due - ye gods!
Cheers - I hope they have got a system going for you for next Saturday .... please report back!

[pilgrim2]

All working fine. Paid in cash at the garage.

[Gasman]

OK Pilgrim - must just have been a glitch - however although I have received email with proof of payment I still have no idea how I managed to make 3 trips in a single return journey nor how they came to the figure quoted. However the receipt DOES say ... receipt of payment of FINE !!!!
Lets just hope it doesn't happen again!
Cheers
Gasman

[Lavanda]

I shall be doing the toll road from Badajoz to Lisbon in the Autumn to collect my great-niece. The last time I did the trip, also to collect family, was about eight years ago and the toll amounted to nearly €70, there and back, I think I am right in remembering. It was something totally crazy. I have to go to Lisbon, rather than Madrid, as all airlines have stopped the child courier service except some obscure company who only fly in to Lisbon. A black mark against BA.

[Gasman]

We have just been for a week touring round central Portugal - avoided the Algarve this time!!!
We have found totally confusing ways and means on the motorways ... The entrance to a paying section is marked, usually fairly clearly either on the ramp/roundabout-entry -
PORTAGEM ... paying Toll
ELECTRONICA ... need to have some kind of advance payment, or MAY be able to pay at first service station - like on the Algarve. I think you may find that the toll roads round Lisbon will have this.

The PORTAGEMs which are not Electronica only, have two different systems
1. You take a ticket at the entrance you use, and pay at a toll-booth, just like the French toll system - but beware ... they refused our Spanish mastercard debit, our French Visa Electron, and a Spanish Visa debit card, but happily took cash!
2. You enter a paying section from an otherwise free section, and pay at the end of that section, again cash preferred!!
We found these non-electronic ones on the older motorways in the Centre of Portugal, but not consistently.

Needless to say we needed Mr Google's Maps (download before you set off from Spain so you don't need to use Data Roaming in Portugal) which function quite well off line, following GPS, but downloaded seemed not to be able to plan routes AVOIDING toll roads ... so we had to ignore a lot of set routes, and make up our own - frustrating but better than getting totally lost, faced with another ELECTRONIC sign looming at the motorway entrance!
There seems to be no way of identifying in advance which motorways work on which system! until you are there on the ramp ...

Does anyone have a link which tells you not only which are toll roads, but also which are electronic only?

We did go into a local Post Office to buy pre-paid scratch cards for which you need to do a roaming-SMS to activate, but could only obtain two 5 euros cards .... of course you do not always know how much you need to pay till you get to the marked sections ... We will save these for the next Algarve trip to Faro!!

In general the roads are much improved in Portugal so travelling about was really quite enjoyable and we certainly saw a lot of countryside and villages!
Gasman and OH