Portugal motorways. What class?

[acropolis22]

Cars seem to be Class 1. We are being charged as Class 2. Is this right? Not sure what the rules are.....

 

[Scotch mist]

Sounds right to me , could be wrong but I think motorhomes start at class 2 & go up to 4

 

[Brendan + Kath]

We are 5.5 tonnes and have been class 2 on all electronic tolls over tge lsst few years

 

[peterc10]

I think the class is based upon the height measured at the front axle. We have an A class and are charged as class 2..

 

[acropolis22]

Fair enough then. Big difference in price though. One short trip we did, the car in front was 85 cents, we were 2.65

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[peterc10]

Just checked and the rules are

• Class 1. Motorcycles and vehicles with two axles and a height less than 1.10m at the front axle.
• Class 2. Vehicles with two axles and a height of 1.10 metres or higher at the front axle.
• Class 3. Vehicles with three axles and a height of 1.10 metres or higher at the front axle.
• Class 4. Vehicles with more than three axles and a height of 1.10 metres or higher at the front axle.

Most cars will be class 1, unless they are SUVs. Most motorhomes will be Class 2, unless they have a TAG axle or are towing a trailer, in which case they would be class 3. They also include the axles of anything you are towing, so a TAG axle motorhome towing a trailer will be class 4!

The difference between class 1 and 2 is usually not as much as your figures suggest. Tolls will depend upon the distance you travel. On the traditional toll roads you take a ticket at the start of the toll section or on the entry ramp using the toll booth, and pay on the off ramp or at the end of the toll section using the toll booth. The car may have travelled a shorter distance than you.

On the electronic toll sections you will pass under the toll gantries at normal speed, which are situated between junctions. You will get warning signs some distance away before you get to the gantry and the actual toll cost for each class is listed next to the sign in letters big enough to read as you speed past, so you can see exactly what you are to pay.

 

[acropolis22]

Thanks, peterc10 for that helpful description. We found it impossible to tell what motorways are electronic only when planning our route. So we bought a Tollcard just in case. But both trips so far have been ticket and pay. Looks like we may have wasted 40 euros.

 

[OldCodger]

Just checked and the rules are

• Class 1. Motorcycles and vehicles with two axles and a height less than 1.10m at the front axle.
• Class 2. Vehicles with two axles and a height of 1.10 metres or higher at the front axle.
• Class 3. Vehicles with three axles and a height of 1.10 metres or higher at the front axle.
• Class 4. Vehicles with more than three axles and a height of 1.10 metres or higher at the front axle.

Most cars will be class 1, unless they are SUVs. Most motorhomes will be Class 2, unless they have a TAG axle or are towing a trailer, in which case they would be class 3. They also include the axles of anything you are towing, so a TAG axle motorhome towing a trailer will be class 4!

The difference between class 1 and 2 is usually not as much as your figures suggest. Tolls will depend upon the distance you travel. On the traditional toll roads you take a ticket at the start of the toll section or on the entry ramp using the toll booth, and pay on the off ramp or at the end of the toll section using the toll booth. The car may have travelled a shorter distance than you.

On the electronic toll sections you will pass under the toll gantries at normal speed, which are situated between junctions. You will get warning signs some distance away before you get to the gantry and the actual toll cost for each class is listed next to the sign in letters big enough to read as you speed past, so you can see exactly what you are to pay.

How do the electronic sensors over the roads count the axles?

 

[peterc10]

How do the electronic sensors over the roads count the axles?

I don't know for sure but my guess is sensors in the road surface.

 

[OldCodger]

I don't know for sure but my guess is sensors in the road surface.

Thank you. Must be something like that!

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[Speve]

We did Portugal earlier this year and used automatic toll with four axles only class two

 

[OldCodger]

We did Portugal earlier this year and used automatic toll with four axles only class two

Sssshhhh!

 

[acropolis22]

As a follow on, does anyone have a link to a source that tells me what motorways are the electronic gantry type. Just cannot find anything.

 

[peterc10]

As a follow on, does anyone have a link to a source that tells me what motorways are the electronic gantry type. Just cannot find anything.

Follow this link and it has a map of the toll roads. The electronic ones are in red and the manual ones are in grey.

 

[acropolis22]

Follow this link and it has a map of the toll roads. The electronic ones are in red and the manual ones are in grey.

Thanks. As expected, just wasted 40 euros. No more on our route. Very poor system for the tourist. Totally confusing.

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[OldCodger]

Thanks. As expected, just wasted 40 euros. No more on our route. Very poor system for the tourist. Totally confusing.

We found the easytoll system very simple. I registered the MoHos registration number on the website plus a credit card (I have a Starling account in Euros so don’t pay currency exchange charges) and every couple of weeks I got an email saying how much I’d been charged. The only time I had to stop was on the via verde toll booth which take a credit card - very similar to the French system if you know that.

If you paid €40 Euro for a prepaid card I assume it’s the same - it’s just reducing the balance on the card

 

[acropolis22]

We found the easytoll system very simple. I registered the MoHos registration number on the website plus a credit card (I have a Starling account in Euros so don’t pay currency exchange charges) and every couple of weeks I got an email saying how much I’d been charged. The only time I had to stop was on the via verde toll booth which take a credit card - very similar to the French system if you know that.

If you paid €40 Euro for a prepaid card I assume it’s the same - it’s just reducing the balance on the card

Correct. Setting it up is easy enough. It was just not easy to find out what we needed. Most of the maps we found were incomprehensible. In the end, we need not have bothered with the Tollcard or Easytoll as all our trips after buying it were just the normal ticket at the start and pay by debit card at the end. No idea why they have about 4 different systems.

 

[Brendan + Kath]

Thanks, peterc10 for that helpful description. We found it impossible to tell what motorways are electronic only when planning our route. So we bought a Tollcard just in case. But both trips so far have been ticket and pay. Looks like we may have wasted 40 euros.

They last for a year I think so if you are going back to Portugal you may not have wasted your money