Toll highways in Italy. Variety of roads in Italy

Renting a car in Italy and driving on your own adventure is an interesting and tempting experience. In Italy, there are many companies that will offer you to rent any vehicle that suits you. By the way, in Italian, renting a car sounds like noleggio auto.

The right decision would be to order a car in advance via the Internet, this will make the rental process easier and more convenient for you. However, you can rent a car directly at the airport, or in the village of the Big Boot, from where you want to start your tour of Italy. However, when booking via the Internet, exactly the same options are available - airport, train station or office rental office directly in the city.

Depending on the city, prices vary within a small range, but on average, a class C car complete with a navigator and insurance will cost you 60-80 euros per day.

For those who like to save money, there is a good option. If you go from the website of some airlines through a link to the website of companies specializing in providing car rental services, you can get a discount. The biggest bonus is given for clicking on the link from the sites of low-cost carriers such as WindJet and RyanAir. However, there is one "but". This discount applies only to a budget class car.

For the convenience of the client, the company allows you to rent vehicle in one locality, and it will be possible to return it in any other city. Although this option will cost a little more.

In addition, if you wish, you can rent exclusive car, be it some kind of rarity or a brand new Lamborghini. Such services are usually offered by small private firms. Of course, this pleasure will cost much more, and the requirements for the driver will be tougher.

Understanding the difficult and "intricate" interchanges of Italian roads is not easy at first. In this country, the most common roundabouts. Movement priority in such a case has the car that is already driving in a circle. In Italy, there are almost no butterfly interchanges.

Documents and insurance when renting a car in Italy

In order to rent a vehicle, you will need Russian law, as well as an international driver's license, even if you already have a national driver's license of the 2011 model. Italian authorities are punishing those who drive within the state only with a national driver's license with a fine of 300 euros or more. However, you can rent a car, especially small ones. rental companies do not refuse to issue a car if there is only a national driving license. Large ones can be problematic.

In addition to a driver's license, you will need a bank card, which should contain a considerable amount of funds. These funds (from 500 euros) serve as collateral and will be blocked in case you have any fines or find problems with the car. The deposit will be returned within 2 to 4 weeks after deducting all fines and vehicle repair costs. If everything is in order with the car, the deposit will be returned in full. To avoid misunderstandings, when returning the car, require a documented inspection by the manager.

The most stringent conditions for the delivery of documents and collateral are at large international rental agencies. Surprisingly, smaller regional car rental companies have less stringent conditions. Local firms are trying to create more attractive conditions for tourists.

As a rule, the cost of the offered car rental services in Italy includes:

• Mileage for any distance;
• Car theft and damage insurance with deductible, as well as third party insurance;
• Local value added tax.

By paying extra cash, You can get super insurance, a child restraint, as well as a navigator with a downloaded map of the region.

Medical travel insurance. Specify the country and dates of the trip, then select suitable option and issue a policy.

Fuel and gas stations in Italy

In Italy, you will be able to refuel with your choice of unleaded 95 or 98 petrol, as well as diesel fuel, referred to here as Gasolio. Of course, diesel fuel is cheaper, but renting motor vehicle working on diesel fuel will be a little more expensive.

According to statistics, in Italy, fuel prices exceed the cost of gasoline in other EU countries. So, one liter of gasoline now costs about 2 euros. Most last changes prices for diesel fuel and gasoline various brands in Italy you can see .

Easily, quickly and at any time of the day you can refuel only on the motorway. On all other roads, this case is much more difficult. There are no petrol stations here on weekends. holidays and in dark time days. Payment for gasoline is often made only through specialized machines that do not accept foreign bank cards, so always carry some cash with you.

When entering a gas station in the city at any time of the day, always pay attention to the hanging Aperto sign, which means open, or the Chiuso sign, which says that the gas station is closed.

Features of traffic rules in Italy

Traffic rules in Italian sound like "Codice della strada" and practically do not differ from Russian rules traffic. The main difference is that here they are strictly observed by all road users. Therefore, we recommend that you strictly observe local rules traffic, communicate politely and without conflict with other drivers and pay fines on time if you have violated something, especially since if you do not pay a fine, then there may be problems with obtaining a visa.

In no case do not try to "negotiate" with the policeman and give him a bribe - this will have Negative consequences which will be fraught for you.

Verona

This city is located one hour from Venice and there are limited car parks in the center. The city map contains information about all car parks, paid and free, located within the city. The nearest car park to the center is near Porta Palio.

Pisa

An inexpensive car park is located in Via Atleti Azzurri Pisani near the train station. From the parking lot to the famous "Leaning Tower" walk no more than fifteen minutes. An hour of parking costs a little less than a euro, and after two in the afternoon it is free.

Sienna

The average price of a car park in this city is one euro. The municipal government also maintains a number of free parking lots, one of which is located next to the railway station. From this parking lot to the center of Siena is a twenty-minute walk. Information about all paid and free car parks can be found on this site.

Orvieto

In this ancient city, the streets are not suitable for moving by car (very narrow) and it is better not to drive into it without special need. Naturally, with such an infrastructure, the number of parking spaces is limited. After 20-00 all the free space in the streets and squares is occupied by Aboriginal cars. By current rule municipality, the cars must be removed before eight o'clock in the morning.

Montalcino

This town is famous for the production of Brunello di Montalcino wine, which can be bought in any quantity. Free parking is located in front of the entrance to the town, but from there you have to walk up for about twenty minutes. Just don't drink wine before you drive!

Paid parking is located on Via Roma and the cost of one hour in 2019 was 1.30 €. In this old town there is another paid parking lot, which is located next to the municipal square, but it is small and it is always a problem to park a car on it.

Montepulciano

Free parking is located along the road at the entrance to the city and, just like in Montalcino, you will have to get to the central part of the village on foot. Paid parking is located near Piazza Grande and the cost of one hour is one euro and thirty cents.

Amalfi

This city is located on the picturesque coast of the coast of the same name, and most recently motorists experienced serious problems with car parking. But some time ago, a large parking lot Luna Rossa was built, with a capacity of two hundred cars. Parking is located in front of the entrance to the city, and an hour of car parking costs three euros, or thirteen euros per day. Together with a parking lot inside the hill, a walkway was built for pedestrians, which takes tourists to the city square.

The motorway, called "Nastro Azzurro" stretches along the beautiful Amalfi Coast, which makes the trip unforgettable, and the road itself is one of the most picturesque in the world.

Lucca

Immediately after entering the old part of the town through the gates of Victor Immanuel, there is a parking lot, it will be on the right along the course.

Bagnoregio

In this town, parking is paid from 8:00 to 20:00 and is located under the bridge. The first hour of parking costs two euros, and all subsequent hours cost one euro. There are also free car parks in Bagnoregio. One of them is located on the square near Via Don S.

Montefiascone

This city is famous for its Italian wines and the fact that it is located at an altitude of 600 m above sea level. The free car park in Montefiascone is located on Via del Castagno.

The first highway in Italy was built during the fascist regime of Mussolini, between 1924 and 1926. It had one lane in each direction, a dividing barrier in the center and an emergency lane. Then it was assumed that all cars on the highway would move at the same speed. By the end of 1930, more than 400 km of one-, two- and multi-lane express roads. In this matter, the Italians were pioneers and bypassed even the Third Reich with their Reichsbahns (later Autobahn).

1. Today, a typical Italian motorway has three lanes in each direction.

Motorways in Italy are most often paid and on flat sections have three lanes in each direction. Difficult mountainous sections may have fewer lanes and additional speed limits.

2. Mountain section of the A7 motorway at the entrance to Genoa. Oncoming lanes on the viaduct from above.

When planning a route, problems can arise, since it is not easy to calculate the best route in advance, taking into account the cost of travel. The fact is that different highways are controlled different companies and have different cost travel. So, having reduced a little on the way, you can greatly overpay for the fare. There is a special service on the official website, but it is not very convenient.

3. The fare on the motorway A35 "BreBeMi" is about twice as high as on the parallel A4.

4. Another route option. Because of the price difference, the A4 is much busier. On both schemes, only paid sections are highlighted.

The second problem with Italian motorways is the virtual absence of a free alternative. Of course there is a free route, but it usually overgrows big amount settlements, intersections with traffic lights and in a circular motion. In Italy, especially in the north, there is a very high population density, and such a thing as "out of town" in some regions may simply be absent. Accordingly, you have two options - to drive for free at a speed of 50 km/h or for money at a speed of 130 km/h. The problem is exacerbated by the high load on the road network. Even without traffic jams, you can drive 50-60 km in 1.5-2 hours.

5. Highway SP35 Milan - Pavia, a free analogue of the A7 motorway in this section. solid settlements and traffic lights.

6. And this is what the A7 motorway itself looks like in the same area.

Motorways in Italy are called " Autostrade" (or " Autostrada" in the singular) and are numbered from A1 to A36. The A53 Bereguardo - Pavia and the A91 Rome - Fiumicino Airport are also considered motorways.

How motorways can be classified are some bypass roads, the so-called Tangentiale ( Tangenziali). Motorway status has Tangenziale from A50 to A60, A90 (great bypass of Rome), RA1 (bypass of Bologna) and RA15 (bypass of Catania).

Timelapse: driving along the route from the scheme No. 3

Watch better with subtitles.

The same video, but cutting without acceleration.

8. If you don't have a transponder (Telepass), you will need to get a "bigletto" cardboard card at the entrance. At the exit, before paying, the card must be given to the operator or machine.

There are also freeways called Bretele ( Bretelle), Diramationi ( Diramazioni) and Racordi ( Raccordi). These are usually junctions of two freeways, or junctions of cities and nearby freeways. The numbering can be different, for example "A1 dir", "A4 / A5", "A29 dir A", "A29 racc bis".

If you're already confused, it's still early, because there's still Raccordi autostradali with numbering RA1 - RA16. These are usually short type B or C country roads connecting towns to freeways. I will write about types at the very end.

11. A53 Bereguardo - Pavia is classified in different ways. In fact, this is the classic "Raccordi autostradali" - free of charge and with a speed limit of 110 km / h.

Almost all highways, in addition to numbers, also have names. So, the A1 motorway, passing through almost all of Italy from Milan to Naples, is called " Autostrada del Sole", and the newly built A35 Brescia - Milan is called" BreBeMi" or " Direttissima».

13. Exit from the A58 motorway to the A35 "BreBeMi" motorway.

14. Rest area best shows attitude management company to your clients. This one is on the A35 "BreBeMi".

16. Can be done formally, . And you can think of everything to the smallest detail.

In Italy, as in most other countries, all roads have several classifications. The main one is the classification by types of roads.

• Type A or autostrade- motorway, speed limit 130 km/h. In this publication, we will focus on this type of roads.
• Type B or strade extraurbane principali- a highway with a dividing barrier in the center, with at least two lanes in each direction, with a reserve lane (we call them shoulders), without crossing flows and interchanges in the same level. The speed limit is 110 km/h.
• Type C or strade extraurbane secondary– highway without a dividing barrier. Usually, one or two lanes in each direction. The speed limit is 90 km/h.
• Type D or strade urbane di scorrimento- road in the village, with a dividing barrier and sidewalks. The speed limit is 70 km/h.
• Type E or strade urbane di quartiere- a road in a built-up area, without a dividing barrier and with sidewalks. The speed limit is 50 km/h.
• Type F or strade locali- everything that cannot be attributed to the previous types. For example, a street without sidewalks.

Photo-article about a trip to Italy by car. gasoline prices, toll roads and parking. Where to rent a car, where to refuel and park. Pros and cons of traveling in Italy on your own transport.

Our trip to Europe lasted 25 days. During this time, we drove from the Czech Republic (Prague) through Austria and Germany to the south of Italy along the east coast, about 1000 km we wound around Sicily, and then returned along the west coast of Italy back to Prague. Only about 6000 km.

I will describe the route and details of the trip in another article, but here is just a story about what everyone who is going to travel around Italy in their own or rented car should know.

The car that drove all over Italy
Freeway in Italy

Car rental and travel in Italy

• You can rent a car in Italy and other European countries at rentalcars.com

• We traveled in Czech rooms. The traffic police stopped once at the entrance to Italy. We checked our passports. The documents for the car, rights and insurance were not checked. More traffic police did not see

• Allowed speed on the freeway 130 km per hour, but Italians drive faster. There are speed cameras. Signs on the scoreboard warn that there will be a camera soon. Also, the navigator rang, warning about speed control.

• On the day of departure from the Czech Republic, the navigator broke down, so we bought in Italy new navigator by Tomtom with lifetime map updates for Europe. While we were driving without it through applications on the iPhone, we repeatedly climbed to the wrong place due to interchanges and 180-degree turns.

• If your goal is only Sicily or just a vacation in the south of Italy, and not a trip as such, then it would be cheaper and more logical to buy a plane ticket, fly to Sicily or south of Italy and rent a car on the spot. She talked about how to look for air tickets, including for low-cost flights, in the article:. Ryanair flies in Italy, Alitalia has normal prices for flights within the country.

• Take insurance with full coverage when renting a car. In 8 cases out of 10, your antenna will be torn off, your doors will be scratched, or your rear bumper will be scratched.

• There are cafes along the highway, but their prices are quite high (a 300% markup on prices in supermarkets), so if you want to save money, buy food and water for the journey in advance in cities

• If you plan to catch a plane or somewhere else, put more time on the road. For example, when we returned to the north, we drove through Calabria. The freeway ended abruptly. There were walking repair work which were not previously forewarned. There was no bypass. Just blocked freeway and repairs. I had to go along the serpentines to the coast, because of which we lost 4 hours. Anything can happen in Italy.

Entering Italy from Austria

Gasoline prices in Italy

Gasoline in Italy costs 1.6-1.8€

• Most cheap gasoline, which was found in Italy, cost 1.53€ at a semi-abandoned Sicilian gas station. Prepare to pay on average 1.64-1.7€ refueling in the north and 1.55-1.74€ refueling in southern Italy in Calabria

• It is better to refuel in cities, and not on a toll freeway - it will be cheaper this way. Gasoline and diesel on the highway costs 20-30 cents more per liter than in cities. Gasoline prices on the freeway reach up to 1.9-2€

• In Italy, diesel is cheaper than gasoline by an average of 20 cents per liter, so if you are traveling in a rented car, it is better to take a diesel car

• Natural benson is the 95th. Available at almost all gas stations. Usually the hose with the 95th gasoline is painted green.

Prices for 95 gasoline in Europe:

Czech Republic 1.2€
Germany 1.5€
Austria 1.3-1.4€
Italy - 1.6-2€

Diesel prices in Europe

Czech Republic – 1.15€
Germany - 1.25-1.3€
Austria – 1.2€
Italy - 1.4-1.7 €

Senza Piombo is also gasoline
Super SP is also gasoline

Gas stations in Italy

In Italy there is such a thing as a tanker. What does it mean? At the same gas station, there are two types of gas stations:

Self

1. Refuel on your own. The price of gasoline corresponds to that indicated on the sign at the entrance to the gas station.
2. To refuel, you need to insert a bill into the payment machine (it stands near one of the columns). For example, insert 20 euros. The inscription “Credit 20 euro” will appear
3. After that, you need to select the column at which you will refuel. Next, insert the hose into the gas tank. If you inserted 20 euros, gasoline will be poured into the tank exactly for 20€ .
4. Filling machines accept banknotes of 10, 20, 50 €. They don't take 100 and 500 euros, they don't give change.

The column says Self. On the left, a little further away, there is another column that says “Serv” - prices are higher there
The number of liters, the price of fuel and the amount are shown.
A miracle of nature - a terminal at a gas station that accepts bank cards for payment Standard terminal that accepts only euro cash

Servado or Servito or SerV

If the column says "Servado" or "Servito", it means that you will be fueled by a tanker. This person can accept payment in cash, sometimes they take cards, give change. The only negative is that gasoline with this option will cost 10-15 cents per liter more than the price originally indicated on the sign at the entrance to the gas station. There is no need to tip the tanker - they are already included in the price of gasoline.

If you want to save money, drive up to the “Self” column and refuel yourself.

Gas station with "Serv" sign and higher prices

Toll roads in Italy

All of Italy from north to south can be driven on a toll freeway. To drive from north to south along the east coast, you need to spend 70€ along the west coast 60€. Procedure on the freeway:

• When you enter the freeway, you press the red button in the machine, you get a ticket. Or the ticket is already in the machine, you just need to pick it up.

• At the exit, insert the ticket and pay the amount indicated on the machine. If a person is sitting in the window, you give him a ticket, money or a bank card.

• Do not drive up to the exit above which is written Telepass in large blue letters on a yellow background - this line is only for those who have a Telepass. If there is no Telepas, then choose the exit on which biglietto is written, cards or pennies are drawn.

• It is advisable to have small euro pennies with you, since not all machines take bills, and there is not always a person in the window

• Roads in southern Italy (south of Naples) are free.

• We went to Sicily by ferry. There - 38€ , back - 40€

• There are toll and free roads in Sicily. The road leading to the north of the island through Palermo is tolled and costs 10€

Freeway in Italy
Freeway ticket
Ferry ticket to Sicily

Car parks in Italy

• We rented apartments in Italy and hotels through booking, pre-filtering additional amenities with “free parking”

• In cities, parking behind the white line is free, behind the blue, yellow and red lines - by tickets. Some car parks are restricted to residents of a certain area or for people with disabilities.

• At some resorts, parking is free even beyond the blue line during the low season, and charges are introduced from June.

• In northern Italy, you can often see such a picture when you stop by demon paid parking, and there on free space there is a certain person, waving his hands at you and trying in every possible way to help you park (but in fact it only interferes). The aforementioned person after the rendered "service" asks for money and pretends to be a parking attendant. You can ask from 1 before 3€. This face can be understood - a person illegally arrived in Italy from Africa and is trying to somehow survive. Whether to give him money is a personal matter for everyone.

• The price for paid parking in Italy is on average 1-3 euros per hour or 15-25 euros per day. You have to pay at the parking machines.

• If you plan to stay in cities (for example, Florence, Siena, Rome), it is better to rent accommodation with parking in advance to avoid headaches. For example, in the center of Florence, the entry of vehicles until 19.30 is prohibited. It is possible, without knowing this, to rent housing in the center and not be able to drive up to it by car. More about (agrotourismo, camping, guesthouse, hostel, apartment or hotel)

There are no lines on the asphalt. Parking is free
Blue lines on the asphalt - paid parking

Advantages of traveling in Italy by car

• Freedom of movement, independence from public transport schedules

• You can rent accommodation on the highway, stay in agro-tourism or small towns, where prices for renting apartments and hotels are lower. All apartments rented by us during the trip cost 50-70 euros per day for a three-room apartment.

• Possibility to leave the highway, change the route, drive to the deserted beach found on the map.

• We saw the whole country. We drove by car along the east coast of Italy to the very south, drove around Sicily (about 1000 km), returned back along the west coast. We saw rocks, and volcanoes, and bare fields, cacti, tangerine plantations, vineyards and high mountains. In Italy, there are landscapes that are typical for Georgia, Armenia, Mexico, Austria, Croatia, Uzbekistan and even Belarus. All this can be seen on the scale of one country.

Fast growth car park V last years, increasing the intensity of traffic and related problems of ensuring its safety, economic considerations, as well as the requirements for the transportation of troops, military equipment, fuels and lubricants and other logistical supplies, necessitated the reconstruction of the existing road network and the construction of new roads with higher technical indicators.

According to data published in the foreign press, the total length of the operated Italian motorways is about 5200 km (Fig. 1). Currently, 620 km of roads are under construction and another 940 km of motorways are planned to be built in the near future. In accordance with the plans for the development of motorways by 1980, the length of Italian motorways will reach 6740 km.

Rice. 1. Scheme of motorways of Italy

Of the indicated total length of highways, 2,300 km belong to the Avtostrada society, 2,200 km to other companies, and only 680 km are directly administered by the state.

Highways in Italy are designed for traffic from high speeds. They are built according to existing international standards and are divided into two types: "A" and "B". Type A highways are laid mainly on flat, open terrain and have a maximum slope of 4%, a minimum curve radius of 500 m, a line-of-sight range of at least 250 m, and a roadway width of 24 m (Fig. 2). Highways of type "B" are built in mountainous areas, their maximum elevation is 5.5% and the width of the carriageway is 22 m (Fig. 3).

Rice. 2. Motorway section Bologna - Canosa

On highways there are no intersections of traffic flows at the same level, there are no traffic lights and signs requiring cars to stop. Entry onto motorways is possible only from special acceleration lanes, which allow incoming vehicles to reach speeds corresponding to the speed of movement on the motorway and freely merge into the flow of cars.

After 25-30 km, platforms are equipped for Maintenance vehicles or means of calling technical assistance, after 300 - 400 m - sites for a short stop. When designing them, such factors as the terrain plan, road profile, psychological impact are also taken into account. road conditions and the surrounding landscape on drivers and passengers.

Rice. 3. Engineering structures on a mountain highway

Highways are designed for two-lane, and some sections for three-lane traffic in each direction. Bandwidth, according to the Italian press, is up to 30 thousand cars per day. The permitted speed is 130 km/h.

The main routes run from north to south of the country along the coast of the Adriatic and Tyrrhenian seas and connect the most important administrative and military-industrial centers of Italy: Padua, Bologna, Ancona, Pescara, Canosa, Bari (length 777 km); Milan, Piacenza, Parma, Modena, Florence, Rome, Naples and further to Reggio di Calabria (length 1289 km).

In the latitudinal direction, the motorways Milan - Padua and Naples - Avellino - Canosa pass.

Currently, work is underway on the construction of highway sections Avezzano - Popoli - Pescara, Bari - Taranto, L'Aquila - Alba Adriatica, Caserta - Salerno, Voltri - Santia, Udine - Carnia, Trento - Rovigo, on about. Sicily. The carriageway for three-lane traffic is also being widened in the Milan-Bergamo, Piacenza-Bologna and Multido-Albissola sections. In addition, the following road sections are planned for construction: Taranto - Sibari (135 km), Gela - Syracuse (115 km), Turin - Bardonecchia (68 km), Carnia - Tarviso (50 km), Livorno - Civitavecchia and Vercelli - Gravellona.

Foreign press emphasizes the great military importance of Italy's highways. In the north of the country, motorways have access to the road network of France, Switzerland (via the San Bernard Tunnel), Austria and Yugoslavia. This provides through traffic from Italy to the countries of Central Europe. It is noted that in combination with other highways Italy's highways allow for the rapid transportation of troops, military equipment and other military supplies both within the country and abroad.

Most vulnerabilities Italian highways, according to foreign military experts, are numerous bridges, tunnels, overpasses and other engineering structures, the destruction or capture of which in the event of war will paralyze or significantly complicate the movement in certain areas.

Shakespeare's famous "To be, or not to be?" my husband and I, during a car trip in Italy, paraphrased as “Do you want to drive on paid or free roads?”

I wanted to save money in every possible way on a new dress and other feminine things, and I insisted on driving along free roads, but my husband preferred to travel on paid autobahns.

As a result, I had to listen to him, and it’s very good that I did this, because according to the stories of friends who were stingy and went along free highway, such a "voyage" turned out to be not sugar: low speed traffic, and traffic jams did not add to the mood of the driver and his passengers. At first, my husband and I, while we got acquainted with the toll system for freeways, had some questions, but over time we figured it all out. Now I want to help you do the same.

Which of the Italian roads are toll

Toll roads in Italy are only motorways (all motorways, to be more precise), on this moment there are 80 of them. Travel on other types of roads is free. You can recognize motorways by signs - green plates with the name of the motorway written in white. What is their advantage?

On motorways, the road surface is always excellent, you will never see potholes or any serious defects pavement. And the entire infrastructure of the highway was created for the comfort of the trip: there are several lanes for traffic, a lot of road signs, signs, gas stations. In a word, as they say: "Everything is for the people!"

Fare system

Now in in general terms I will outline the "procedure" of paying the fare. And then I will focus on some important points in more detail. You will not be able to enter or leave the motorway in Italy without going through the Alt Stazione toll booth. It is indicated on green shields in white letters or on white road sign round shape with a red border, inside which is the inscription: "Alt Stazione".

The point itself is a rather wide section of the road with driveways, which are blocked by barriers. For me, when I first saw one of these, for some reason, the first association arose with a line of cash registers in a supermarket. I must say right away that you can not drive through any “corridor”. Some of them are designed for large vehicles, some for cars, and a few more for TELEPASS cardholders. About what TELEPASS cards are and whether a tourist needs them, I will talk a little lower.

Usually paying for the fare and passing through the turnstile is a fast process, it does not take more than 30 seconds. All that is needed is to drive up to the turnstile and, without even leaving the car, press a special button, the machine will issue a magnetic card (it is also called a ticket or receipt), which must be carefully kept until the end of the trip. Next, the barrier will rise, and you drive on.

When you exit the motorway, you will get to a similar point, where you will already need to pay for the trip. The information will be read from the magnetic card (ticket). You can pay either in cash or through bank card.

How are freeway tolls calculated?

There are two ways to calculate the amount required to pay for the fare - closed and open systems.

Closed payment system

The closed system is used on most autobahns in both Italy and throughout Europe. Everywhere on the freeway you will see the Alt Stazion point, and the whole system of travel will be exactly the same as I described above. How is the fare formed in a closed system? The fare is multiplied by the number of kilometers you have driven. You also need to add 22% VAT. On what factors does the tariff depend? The calculation includes:

• Number of vehicle axles.
• Vehicle length (more or less than 1.3 meters).
• Type of motorway (mountainous section or flat).
• Management company rates for this site.

The time factor during a trip on the autobahns is not taken into account.

During the exit from the motorway, you need to give your ticket to the employee of the point, he will lead it through the system, and the amount to be paid will light up on the scoreboard in front of you. Or pay through the machine.

Open payment system

The open toll system on motorways differs significantly. With such a scheme, the fare for some section is fixed. For example, this type of payment is valid on the tracks:

• Como-Milan.
• Turin Bardonecchia.
• Verze-Milan and some others.

When leaving such roads, you need to be careful, because you can pay at some turnstiles only with a card.

Which pay lane is best to enter

This question is important, because it happened more than once that an inattentive tourist drove into the wrong lane, and then he had problems. There are several main "corridors" for travel, and therefore several payment options.

For you, I tried to remember my school skills in making collages and put together all the images that are placed above the payment points, numbering the plates, and now I will talk about each type separately:

• In the picture marked #1, you see a blue plate. You only need to go to the turnstile marked with such a sign if you plan to pay by card.
• If you want to pay in cash or with a card at a self-service machine, you need to focus on the sign that I marked No. 2.
• If, however, you prefer communication with living people to all machines and cards, then follow the turnstile marked with the sign that I marked No. 3. An operator works there, he will tell you the fare, and you can pay for the trip.
• If you are a happy customer of the TELEPASS service, you need to follow the road marked yellow sign, as in my picture number 4.

If you want my personal advice, then it is better to pay to the cashier. Often there are situations when drivers cannot deal with the machine, although it gives change. A with iron machine you can’t argue, and you can’t insist on being right (if you are really right). But you can discuss with the cashier and find out for yourself all the controversial issues. However, I recommend that you do this in a friendly and restrained manner, because the Italians are quite quick-tempered and can quickly make an elephant out of a fly.

What is TELEPASS

There is an opinion among tourists that TELEPASS is just the name of the exit on the freeway, and often with a pure heart they call at this particular turnstile. And then problems begin, because such a payment system is intended only for drivers whose cars have special device, which exchanges information with the turnstile, and money is debited from the bank account on a certain day of the month.

This system was created for quick passage of payment points, and it is beneficial only for local residents, tourists do not need it.

Here is the story that happened to one of our compatriots: “Once, purely by chance, I got into the wrong queue, but to the TELEPASS lane, I was thinking about my own, so I made a mistake. When he came to his senses, it was already too late. I didn’t manage to turn back, because there was a whole line of cars behind me, I wanted to turn to the side of the road and quickly dart to the next checkout to pay, but it also didn’t work, there are no roadsides there. As a result, I received a fine of 60 euros.” So be extremely careful, in the photo above it is marked with a cross where you should definitely not go.

Penalties for traffic violations

Do not try to outwit the toll system. If you do not pay the fare, you will receive a fine of up to 300 euros. And they will send it to you even in your hometown, no matter how far it is from sunny Italy. If you violated the rules on a rented car, then a certain amount will be charged from the deposit that you left when renting a car for the fact that the rental company sends your data to the police.

Subtleties of payment

I have already said that the ticket received at everywhere on paid section. you need to “cherish it like the apple of your eye”, because in the event that you lose it, you will have to pay the fare along the entire motorway, because how will you prove that you did not drive from the very beginning of the toll autobahn?

In the event that for some good reason you were unable to pay the fare directly during the trip, you can do it a little later - within 15 days through:

• One of the Italian post offices.
• Through the Punto Blu office.
• Bank transaction.

You must indicate the reason why you did not pay the fare, the car number and ticket number. As for the details for paying off the fine, it is best to immediately ask for them at the company where you will rent a car, this information is available to employees. You can also check them at the post office or bank. You can write it down right now, I'm before the start of our husband and I car travel I copied the details into a notebook, as they say, "just in case a fireman."

Luckily we didn't need them.

Fare

Since the fare depends on the fare, it is difficult to name any constant figure, it is better for comparison, I will give you the price of a trip between specific cities:

• From Rome to - 17 euros.
• From Rome to - 41 euros.
• From Florence to Pisa - 7 euros.
• From Turin to Trieste - 64 euros.

Prices are calculated for cars with a length of no more than 1.3 meters and with two axles. If you want to make your own trip plan, accurately calculate the cost, see the traffic on the autobahns, then welcome to the AUTOSTRADA website. There you can also see a map of toll roads in Italy.

Alternative paths

If you don't want to pay, you can take a detour. Remember, any paid autobahn in without fail duplicated by a free road. They are designated by the letters SS, which can be deciphered as strada statale, in translation - “highway”. Do not forget that movement along them will be many times slower, as the roads pass through settlements, where the speed will need to be reduced up to 30-50 kilometers per hour. And also on such highways there are fewer lanes and, accordingly, a greater likelihood of traffic jams.

And in front of you can be a huge and slow truck, and you, according to the rules of the road, will not be able to overtake it for quite a decent distance. For many drivers, after such a "toffee", nerve cells will recover for a very long time.

Conclusion

As you can see, there is nothing complicated about driving on Italian toll roads. The scheme is quite simple: when entering a paid section, you need to take a “ticket”, and pay for it when leaving. Difficulty can arise only in driving exactly to those “gates” that are suitable for you to pay, because if you get into a passage that is not suitable for you, problems may arise up to fines.

Use the AUTOSTRADA website - it is your reliable guide in the world of Italian toll roads. Do not violate the rules of both traffic and passage through the toll booths - this can result in problems with the police and heavy fines. If you want to save money, then drive on the highway, but remember the simple truth: "The miser pays twice."