A22 toll options - your opinion?

[superbocker]

We puchased our own transponder some 9 months ago. We always used Drive 4 Fun and initially this was no issue and then they started making it compulsory to supply their own transponder at a charge of 20 euros per time. Reluctanltly therefore we changed rental companies to one that were happy for us to sort ourselves out. It has worked very well and just means you have to pop into the post office to top it up every so often much as you would a pay as you go mobile phone, you are then literally paying for exactly what you incur. We appreciate that the whole situation is difficult for the hire companies to deal with but do feel reluctant to start paying "extra" to them and would recommend anybody that visits regularly like we do to do the same.

[sam]

We puchased our own transponder some 9 months ago. We always used Drive 4 Fun and initially this was no issue and then they started making it compulsory to supply their own transponder at a charge of 20 euros per time. Reluctanltly therefore we changed rental companies to one that were happy for us to sort ourselves out. It has worked very well and just means you have to pop into the post office to top it up every so often much as you would a pay as you go mobile phone, you are then literally paying for exactly what you incur. We appreciate that the whole situation is difficult for the hire companies to deal with but do feel reluctant to start paying "extra" to them and would recommend anybody that visits regularly like we do to do the same.

I thought transponders were registered to a specific car, so how does your transponder work with hire cars?

[superbocker]

No the transponder is yours once you've bought it and when driving through the toll the credit you've got on it pays the toll for whichever vehicle you are in. You can register with CTT (post office) and view your usage and balance in english. As many of the hire companies who supply the transponders are charging an administration fee you quickly recoup the cost of buying your own which is about 27 euros.

[pointersister]

Is the transponder yours for life? or is there an annual charge as well? Does the top up run out after a certain period of time? So many questions!!

[RichardHenshall]

Yes. No. Yes (90 days). Next!

http://www.ctt.pt/fectt/wcmservlet/ctt/ ... onimo.html

[Alison]

Thanks very much to Richard, Steen and co for all this really useful info. I have been watching this subject over the past year or more, like everyone else, despairing at the Portuguese way of doing things - why can't they just provide a 'simple' way for tourists etc to pay the tolls online? (No need for detailed answers on this one!)

Like many others, we come out around 3 or 4 times a year, we always use the motorway, pay at the Post Office while we're there (you only pay for the dates you give them, so are not liable for someone else's fees) and usually get someone else to pay the return to airport fee after we have left. Buying a transponder looks like the best option for us, unless the suggested mandatory hire car transponders are likely to come into effect this year? But we need a better system for our rental guests in the meantime.

I can appreciate what a headache all this is for the hire car companies, many of whom operate on very low margins, unlike the major international companies, so thanks Steen for your efforts to gauge people's views on this.