The Republic of Poland is a country in the eastern part of Central Europe, with a population (according to 2015 data) of thirty-eight and a half million people. Despite the fact that in the last ten or twelve years its economy has been booming, Poland for the most part still remains a so-called transit country. If you look at the world map, it becomes obvious that the main automobile passenger and cargo flow between Asia and Europe converges in this place, so toll roads in Poland are an opportunity to quickly and inexpensively transit this rather large country.
Transport Corridor
Tracking the logistics path is quite easy. Due to the aggravation of political and economic situations in Ukraine and Turkey, these two automobile corridors can be said to be practically closed. Therefore, the main flow of trucks and autotourists converge in the last of the possible options for traveling to the central part of Europe - in the Republic of Belarus. The main part of the cargo flow from the countries of Central Asia, for example fromKazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and other former Soviet republics, goes through Russia, to Moscow, then to Belarus, Minsk and Brest. And from Brest, goods continue their journey through Poland. From the B altics, the only way, for example, to the Balkans, also runs through the border of panstvo.
Are there toll roads in Poland?
Many people ask this question when going on the road and making their route to their destination. The answer is simple - yes. But so far there are very few of them: only three. There are more and more high-speed highways with an increased level of comfort every year in the country, but so far they charge only on highways A1, A2 and A4. And even then not in all areas, but only in the busiest, with heavy traffic and increased wear of the road surface. Despite the rather high cost of the tariff scale, toll roads in Poland are in high demand, and congestion often occurs at the toll booth, and sometimes, as a rule, during peak hours, traffic jams.
Even before the entrance to the paid section, drivers following in the same direction are warned several times about the payment (pobor opłat). The collection of funds itself is carried out at specialized posts along the way, but, as a rule, when leaving the toll section or when passing the payment control point. Even before entering the toll roads in Poland, drivers always have the opportunity to leave the highway and go to its free equivalent. It will not be so comfortable to move around it, the travel time will increase, but you will notyou will have to spend money paying for travel.
Drive along the A1 highway
To enter the toll roads A1 and A2, the driver needs to take a ticket, wait for the barrier to open and continue driving. The ticket contains information about the point of entry to the highway. The fare is calculated depending on the type of vehicle (motorcycles, cars, trailers, buses, trucks) and the distance travelled. The A1 highway has ten toll checkpoints along its entire length.
The maximum fare for a passenger car here will be 29.90 Polish zlotys (about 7 euros, or 500 Russian rubles), for a car with a trailer - 71 zlotys (16.6 euros, or 1200 rubles). You can pay for the fare in cash or with a plastic (credit or debit) card. When paying in cash, both the national currency and the euro and US dollars are accepted for payment, however, the latter are only in banknotes (they do not accept coins) and with a denomination of no more than 100.
Payment on highways A2 and A4
The cost of toll roads in Poland is lower than in Spain, France or Italy (where a similar payment method is used). However, for the local population, it is still quite high, so, as a rule, transit drivers or regular truckers use such highways.
A similar situation on the A2 highway, which runs through the whole country and is a continuation of the route from Moscow throughMinsk, Brest to Berlin and further to Central Europe. There are four toll sections on the A2 highway, they start from Lodz and go almost to the border with Germany. The total fare on this route for a passenger car with two axles will be 54 PLN and ten groszy. In euro equivalent, this amount is 12.5 euros or 880 Russian rubles. At the entrance to each paid section, the driver will need to take a ticket, and at the exit to pay for the kilometers traveled.
Another toll road - A4, connecting such big cities as Krakow, Katowice and Wroclaw (Breslau), drivers have to pay at each checkpoint of collection of funds (there are only two of them: in Myslowice and in Balice). Then you will have to pay the fare based on the tariff of 10 Polish groszy (2.5 eurocents or 1.6 Russian rubles) per kilometer.
Infrastructure
Toll roads in Poland for cars are slightly more comfortable than for other types of transport. This is connected not only with the infrastructure of gas stations, shops, cafes, but also with the layout of recreational areas, places for recreation and organization of entrances to them. The road network itself and the scheme of interchanges are no worse than neighboring, more developed countries. Drivers are offered modern gas stations of famous brands (Shell, OMV, BP, Orlen, etc.), fast food restaurants (McDonald's, KFC, Burger King, etc.), as well as hotel rooms of a European level of service. Rest places for independent overnight stays, campsites,as well as service stations for car campers.
Directions
For drivers approaching the collection points for the first time in their lives, there is a slight panic, and one single question is spinning in their heads: "How to pay for toll roads in Poland?" And this is no accident, because the highway expands dramatically, and before the eyes of a motorist appears from ten to sixteen stationary payment posts. And almost every one of them has a queue of cars.
The most important thing here is not to be nervous, but to study the graphical information from the boards installed above each of the terminals. Basically, such points are divided into those that work with cash (the image of coins and / or banknotes), with plastic cards (the image of the card, as a rule, with the inscription VISA), with special pass cards (the image of specialized cards with the inscription PASS or other), travel using a transponder (image of radio waves and signature viaToll, TELEPASS or other). Your choice is the first two. Experienced travelers advise you to go to a place where they accept cash, because there, as a rule, there is an employee who, in extreme cases, can help you by suggesting further actions.
Toll roads in Poland are very easy to use, judging by the numerous reviews from car tourists. Many note that it is worth driving through any of them only once, and immediately the abundance of terminals and payment methods ceases to frighten. Also, reviews tell that payment is fast. Drivers from other countries praise the opportunitypay in euros and US dollars. Most importantly, remember (this is what the reviews say) that the ticket must be kept until leaving the paid section. If the ticket is lost, the driver will be charged at the maximum fare rate.
