The new Minister of Transport, Clément Beaune, wants to bring together the motorway companies to ask them for a gesture on the toll rates during this summer period.
Between strikes and inflation, Clément Beaune has no shortage of hot topics to deal with for his first days as Minister Delegate in charge of Transport. In an interview with Le Parisien, this July 10, 2022, Clément Beaune indicated that he wanted to bring together motorway concessionaires to obtain a gesture from them, in order to lower the cost of tolls for holidaymakers.
Despite the increase in fuel prices, the car is still a preferred means of transport by 73% of holidaymakers questioned by an Ipsos study. A drop in toll rates would probably be good news. But ultimately, is the motorway the preferred solution to save money?
A good intention, but too late?
Clément Beaune told Le Parisien: “ We will, with Bercy, bring together all the players around the table, to think about actions. It would be useful if the motorway companies made a move. As Total Energies and others have been able to do, in service stations. »
In June, Total Energies announced that they were going to lower fuel prices by 12 cents at their motorway service stations. A boost for motorists and vacationers, which was applied from 1er July, and will run until August 31.
The new minister would like to obtain the same type of gesture from the various concessionaires of French motorways. But the time to bring together all the actors concerned in Bercy and to reach a consensus, the big departures of July 14 will probably be far behind. It would therefore be surprising if dealers applied a discount only for Aoutians.
Rates that have increased by 2% in 2022
The last annual increase, applied on February 1, 2022, increased toll rates by approximately 2% compared to 2021 rates. This increase represents, for example, €0.70 for a Paris/Nantes or Paris/Lyon, €1 for a Paris/Bordeaux and €1.50 for a Paris/Nice.
Motorway tariffs are revised each year according to terms set by concession contracts drawn up by the state. These increases are partly a response to the observed inflation, but also to the works and maintenance planned by the motorway companies. Until 2023, motorists using the motorway will also pay, through these increases, the price freeze imposed in 2015 by Ségolène Royal. It might be interesting to avoid repeating the same mistakes twice.
Between the current inflation and the investments made by French motorway concessionaires to accommodate electric vehicles, it is a safe bet that lowering toll rates is not really on the agenda. Even less during the summer period, when staff costs are highest to meet the flow of holidaymakers.
With or without a motorway, how can you save money on your journeys?
As it is unlikely that you will be able to benefit from lower tolls, there are two solutions:
- Borrow the secondary network as much as possible and take your time,
- Lower your highway speed to save on fuel (or electricity) consumption.
It is becoming difficult to completely do without motorways, especially since the national ones can no longer absorb all the road traffic. It is then better to opt for savings on consumption to balance your budget.
A few tips to remember before hitting the road:
- It lowers its speed on the highway by 10 to 20 km/h. You can make great savings, whether you drive a thermal vehicle or an electric one
- We check our vehicle before hitting the road and in particular the tire pressure to avoid any mechanical overconsumption.
- We keep safe distances and drive on the right lanes to avoid the accordion effect of the left lane. By adopting a flexible and anticipatory driving style, we will avoid the sequences of braking and restarting which cause more fuel to be consumed.
- We adapt our speed to the traffic. Cruise control (even adaptive) is often a false friend when it comes to lowering fuel consumption. For electric vehicles, and depending on your model, the “freewheel” mode may be preferable on the motorway in the face of regenerative braking to gain a few additional kilometers of autonomy.