Motorway ‘blipper’ / smart tags - For ALL news, advice, how to get one and what’s best, irrespective of the country

[Pukmeister]

Just used a new Emovis tag through France for the first time, after using tickets manually for years.

Only one issue myself, I didn't get fully under one sensor in a 30 kph 'T' signed lane to lift the barrier which caused the group delays (I wasn't the only one). I didn't twig until later that the tag sensor was about 18" square and about 8 feet up on a white pole at a 45 degree angle looking down (cheers for the tip Danny). Had I twigged, I could have ridden a bit further forward to get under it and raised the barrier/green light. Now I know what to look for it should be easy in future.

One rider followed the first tag holder too closely through the lane and the barrier came down and would not raise again until he walked his bike back fully then tried the lane again (to the annoyance of an HGV behind who wanted to cruise through at 30 kph).

Two fellow riders failed to notice that the Calais lanes are all to the left at the final northbound A26 Peage toll plaza ( almost made the same mistake myself) and instead exited in the right lanes (for Lille IIRC) then found themselves trapped behind armco and unable to join us. One entertained us all with a brief off-road detour and found a gap to rejoin us, the other rode on further down the wrong route then found a slip road barrier for another Euro fifty charge that let him regroup with us about 300 yards past the toll plaza.

 

[Wapping]

….One rider followed the first tag holder too closely through the lane and the barrier came down and would not raise again until he walked his bike back fully then tried the lane again (to the annoyance of an HGV behind who wanted to cruise through at 30 kph).

Two fellow riders failed to notice that the Calais lanes are all to the left at the final northbound A26 Peage toll plaza ( almost made the same mistake myself) and instead exited in the right lanes (for Lille IIRC) then found themselves trapped behind armco and unable to join us. One entertained us all with a brief off-road detour and found a gap to rejoin us, the other rode on further down the wrong route then found a slip road barrier for another Euro fifty charge that let him regroup with us about 300 yards past the toll plaza.

It’s not known as the Autoroute des Anglais for nothing.

PS Great that the tag worked well, despite bringing the payage system of France to a grinding halt

 

[Berin]

I'm going to have to get one - how long do they take to arrive? M'off on the 18th June

 

[Wapping]

The one from SANEF arrived almost by return, as did a second one.

 

[Berin]

The one from SANEF arrived almost by return, as did a second one.

Thanks Richard - and is it the the telepeage one I need?

 

[Wapping]

That’s the one.

Emovis / Sanef

https://www.emovis-tag.co.uk/subscription/

For orders placed before 2pm we will dispatch by your selected postal method the same day. Orders made after 2pm are dispatched the next working day. Tags are dispatched Mon-Fri only (excluding bank holidays).

We offer two delivery options: Royal Mail 1st Class post; or if you need your tag urgently we can dispatch by Royal Mail Special Delivery (signature required), in which case your tag will arrive the next day (including Saturday for orders placed Friday).

 

[Berin]

I'm sure it make sense, but what does "Licence tag" mean? Is it just my registration number - so I put UK and reg no.? It's failed to complete 3 times so I'm doing something wrong

That’s the one.

Emovis / Sanef

https://www.emovis-tag.co.uk/subscription/

Failed miserably. It just says "error" and make me do everything again - done it 5 times now so giving up

 

[Berin]

That link you provided worked though! Thanks.

This is what I was trying:https://www.sanef.com

That’s the one.

Emovis / Sanef

https://www.emovis-tag.co.uk/subscription/

 

[Wapping]

I don’t see that field in the application form for the French tag.

I see something about:

Vehicle Registration Number, MUST NOT be a Portuguese hire car (update in your account at any time)
Portuguese vehicle registration numbers MUST include the hyphens e.g. ??-??-??
Non-Portuguese vehicle registration numbers MUST NOT include hyphens

In the application for the Spain / Portugal tag.

 

[Wapping]

Aha, different website.

Can’t help you I’m afraid.

The tag I have comes from the UK office of a French company, which makes calling them much easier.

 

[Berin]

I went with your company - easy peasy!

Aha, different website.

Can’t help you I’m afraid.

The tag I have comes from the UK office of a French company, which makes calling them much easier.

 

[Wapping]

Job done.

Enjoy the tag.

To me at least, it’s just one of those things that make life easier, especially on a motorcycle.

 

[Berin]

Even in the van, which will have the motorcycles in it it will be easier. Plus I can get the Spain and Portugal upgrade later in the year - it's never that clear in Portugal if you should be paying a toll, they seem to have the machines in a layby off the motorway.

Job done.

Enjoy the tag.

To me at least, it’s just one of those things that make life easier, especially on a motorcycle.

 

[Pukmeister]

it’s just one of those things that make life easier, especially on a motorcycle.

Amen to that

 

[Alan R]

Just a quick post about my experience of signing up for and receiving toll tags.

2/7/22 I signed up on the Mango site for an infrequent use, four countries tag. No sign up fees and free for 12 months account management fee (thereafter €5 per annum). €1.70 per month of actual use. An electronic DD mandate (in French) was emailed to me and and linked to my UK Barclays account. There came no further indication that the application was active or being processed. I posted a link to a mate who also applied but couldn’t seem to get Mango to accept his HSBC bank details so he applied a day later, for an Emovis Spain & Portugal tag (also wanted a France tag but Emovis were out of stock). Within an hour he received an email telling him the tag had been dispatched.
Fast forward to 8/7/22 and I’m now getting nervous that the Mango application seemed to have stalled and as we set off for Europe next week, I too applied for a Spain & Portugal tag and also a France tag as they were now in stock. Cost per tag: €10 application fee, €8 annual subscription fees, €20 refundable deposit and €5 per month of actual use. Clearly more expensive than Mango but supplied by a UK based firm and dispatched the same day.
About an hour after I’d finished the Emovis application process, I checked in on my Barclays account and noticed a €0.88 DD withdrawal by Mango - seemingly verifying the DD mandate.
Fast forward yet again to this morning to receive two padded envelopes from Emovis and one from Mango So I now have three tags! I’ll take the Mango tag with me on my trip and return the Emovis tags if the Mango tag and my mate’s Emovis tags work as expected.

So, my top tips are:-
Apply a good deal earlier than the week before departure;
Be patient and allow Mango the time to send the tag from France.

If you and a few friends do want to apply for Emovis tags, then one of you should do so first and wait (I didn’t do this) for Emovis to send an ‘invite a friend discount email whereby you will both receive €5 discount on your next bill or annual fee.

Alan R

 

[er-minio]

Fast forward yet again to this morning to receive two padded envelopes from Emovis and one from Mango So I now have three tags! I’ll take the Mango tag with me on my trip and return the Emovis tags if the Mango tag and my mate’s Emovis tags work as expected.

When I applied a few months back, I applied both to Ulys and Emovis. As documented in this thread.
Emovis, being UK based is the fastest and most responsive.

Ulys will send you some important bank communications via snail mail without emailing you for inexplicable reasons

Since I really need the Italy option, I cancelled Emovis and stuck with Ulys (I now have two tags: car and bike).
The refund process from Emovis is fast and easy.

 

[RD.]

Hello All,

I’ve just seen this thread!

Regarding toll roads / peage, I’ve only briefly looked in to acquiring a toll tag but never given it much thought, mainly because I’ve only ever done two long trips using toll roads / peage, and they was both a nightmare experience in my right hand drive car!

I own a gîte (holiday rental accommodation) / chambres d’hôte (B&B) in Lower Normandy, France and have both French and British bank accounts. I don’t often travel far, usually Upper and Lower Normandy, Brittany and Pays De La Loire, so mainly North West France, mainly due to commitments but occasionally I travel to the South of France to visit a friend.
My question is, I’d like to get toll tag which preferably covers all of Europe but one which incurs the least cost, for a very infrequent user. I mainly bimble around without the need to use toll roads but perhaps a few times per year, I may need to use a peage.
I’m currently still driving my RHD car which I need to sell and buy a LHD 4x4 and sometime in September I shall be buying a bike, probably a middleweight enduro / adventure bike with the aim to tour around on and maybe organise some day trips out for my customers, both on and off-road.

Considering that I reside in France, have a French bank account and will use toll roads very infrequently, which company toll tag would best suit my criteria and be most inexpensive?

Cheers.

 

[leadfarmer]

Just check the usual web sites, the cheapest will depend upon the promotions or special offers that each is doing when you sign up, I don’t think there is such a thing as a best one

Generally you don’t pay when you don’t use them, especially if you’re signing up from France

I have an APRR / Mango tag that does France/Italy/Spain/Portugal

If I remember rightly it cost me 10 euros to sign up and it’s bloody brilliant, if you use it in a country outside France they bill straight through your French account so no hassle

 

[stever1]

Just check the usual web sites, the cheapest will depend upon the promotions or special offers that each is doing when you sign up, I don’t think there is such a thing as a best one

Generally you don’t pay when you don’t use them, especially if you’re signing up from France

I have an APRR / Mango tag that does France/Italy/Spain/Portugal

If I remember rightly it cost me 10 euros to sign up and it’s bloody brilliant, if you use it in a country outside France they bill straight through your French account so no hassle

That sounds the best/easiest option so far.

It’s almost as if you live there, and know what you’re doing.

 

[RD.]

Just check the usual web sites, the cheapest will depend upon the promotions or special offers that each is doing when you sign up, I don’t think there is such a thing as a best one

Generally you don’t pay when you don’t use them, especially if you’re signing up from France

I have an APRR / Mango tag that does France/Italy/Spain/Portugal

If I remember rightly it cost me 10 euros to sign up and it’s bloody brilliant, if you use it in a country outside France they bill straight through your French account so no hassle

The countries covered by Mango is good but how often is it billed…. Annually, quarterly, monthly or per toll?
Two of the peage tolls we used were around €30 per toll with most much cheaper. As well as subscription, does the Mango user pay an additional peage fee and if so, is this the usual rate or reduced rate?