[PR] Eflow.ie - information on M50 tolling regime

darkman2

www.eflow.ie

New website for the tolling system on the M50 inc costs etc. Whats your opinion on having to pay for a further 35 years? Franky im pissed off about it but at least to quell the anger the motorway should be moving!:rolleyes:

Article in Indo this morning

Motorists face monthly fee for M50 toll device

By Treacy Hogan Environment Correspondent
Wednesday April 09 2008


MOTORISTS are going to have to pay a monthly charge for a 'spy in the cab' box in addition to higher toll charges on Dublin's new-look M50.


The monthly standing charge for administration will depend on which tag operator motorists sign up with under the new barrier-free system.

The National Roads Authority (NRA) and up to five private operators are offering a range of deals.

Motorists will pay the toll of €2 plus a fee to the tag company from August.

The toll for a car will be €2 if you have a pre-paid tag, €2.50 if you get one the day afterwards or €3 if they have to bill you.

But motorists will still have to set up an account and pay up to €1 a month for the cost of the small box that attaches to the dashboard.

Some companies allow you to buy the unit for €30-€40 and pay a smaller monthly charge. Others rent you the box and charge more each month.

Overhead cameras and detectors will automatically record your electronic tag or vehicle number plate.

This barrier-free system will enable you to pass through the toll at the legal speed limit.

The toll is then debited from your account with the tag provider.

Options

Registration for eFlow barrier-free tolling will start next month and customers will have a range of account options (such as pre-pay or post pay) and a variety of ways to pay the toll (such as direct debit, debit card or by cash).

After that you will be prosecuted and will have to pay toll, legal costs and a €25 penalty.

The new toll charges campaign is being launched today by the NRA.

Fred Barry, NRA chief executive, said yesterday he was looking forward to the benefits the new system would bring to the M50.

- Treacy Hogan Environment Correspondent

L1011

eflow.ie = welcome to 2001. I see the site links only to three of the other 5 operators.

MOH

That is one horrible looking website.

I love the M50 map:

With eFlow in place from August 2008, now there's
nothing to stop you exploring all that County Dublin,
its environs, and beyond, has to offer in terms of
shops, attractions and sites of interest.

accompanied by a not very helpful schematic showing junction and road numbers.

darkman2

Was there something stopping us from 'exploring' Co Dublin before?

Chris_533976

That map is dreadful.

Apparently now theres no N7, but there are two N4s.....

lynchie

So if you dont have a tag on your car i.e. an easy pass tag and instead allow them to read your car reg and bill you that way, you pay €2.50 instead of €2? How can that be fair at all?

How good are these registration readers? i.e. if my reg is covered in muck and barely legible can they still record them?

If "my friend" from the UK drives my car on the m50 and doesnt pay the toll, can they prosecute me for it? Or can I simply fill in their details on the fine / penalty notice like what happens for speeding offences?

What happens with foreign registered vehicles? how do they recover the fees from them if they have no access to their vehicle details?

prendy

lynchie wrote: »

What happens with foreign registered vehicles? how do they recover the fees from them if they have no access to their vehicle details?

they start charging regular paying customers more!:mad:

roastie

what if i don't clean my car and they cant see my reg properly ???

Colm R

If your reg isn't clearly visible, then a Garda can stop you for it.

Idbatterim

lads when does the nit picking stop! "what if my number plate is dirty and cant be read?!" what tiny percent of vehicles might this apply to on the M50?! if its a very small amount, it wouldnt probably be even worth chasing up charges, given the administration and time involved! for all those pub critics, inflation bla bla bla, were going to be paying bla bla bla extra! Youll be saving more than enough fuel, time and stress to more than compensate!

anotherlostie

This is a real pain in the ass. I read elsewhere that there is going to be a defacto 16% increase in the toll charge because VAT cannot be levied on a government service (which the toll will now be), and now as an occasional user, I will be looking at paying 50% more than at present. This will drive even more people away from the M50.

If it's anything like the London congestion charging system, there will be a whole team of "revenue collectors" chasing after anyone who appears to be trying to get one over on the system.

Eg obscured number plates, foreign regged vehicles that pass more frequently than visiting tourists etc

rameire

there was obviously not much to fill the papers today if they went hell for leather on the m50 toll, the system and the charges are not a new thing,
it makes it look like the government are charging you extra to use the tags,
i have a tag for my car and bike, and i am charged every month for the service already, the companies providing these tags arent going to give you something for free.
i think a good option would be for the govenment to run a tag operating system, and the service charge should be set at a maximum, but if you used the toll, the rental/service price could go down with the amount of usage. as they would be getting the fixed charge of 2 euro.

MDTyKe

Uhm,

Firstly, what is the difference? A lot of people pay for EazyPass thing anyway - and since they're all compatible, you aren't paying any extra than the tag? Plus it works in some of the city center car parks now too.

And secondly, do NOT compare this and the London congestion charge in any way. They have cameras in every single street within the zone outrightly monitoring cars and peoples movements, all for the 'environment', and charge £8 (€10+) a day for it - not far off what it costs for the eTag for a year... (I think one operator is 50c/month? Not sure which tag it is though).

Also, I wonder if the likes of eazypass is lawful. Apparently if you pre-buy 40 trips, by law (irish) you're meant to get a discount. Not sure if anyone was aware of this, but check the law. For eazypass, your account is topped up to equivalent of 40 trips (or at least was) when it went 'low' - so isn't this the same?


Matt

icdg

The map on that site is, er, interesting. The N81 has been renamed the NR1, the Naas Road is the N4 (as is the Lucan Road), and Junction 3 is Junction 1...

dak

Have the M50 operators a sense of humour or what ?


Eflow = Wolfe !!!!!!!!!!

L1011

MDTyKe wrote: »

And secondly, do NOT compare this and the London congestion charge in any way. They have cameras in every single street within the zone outrightly monitoring cars and peoples movements, all for the 'environment', and charge £8 (€10+) a day for it - not far off what it costs for the eTag for a year... (I think one operator is 50c/month? Not sure which tag it is though).

eTrip works out as €6 a year if you buy the tag off them outright.

astrofool

I see the language options on the site aren't working.

How does the system work with foreign cars and foreign owned goods vehicles?

I use the toll bridge maybe 6 times a year, so will probably go for the registered plate option, are there any differences in what eazypass/etrip etc. provide? (i.e. value add stuff)

rekrow

darkman2 wrote: »

New website for the tolling system on the M50 inc costs etc. Whats your opinion on having to pay for a further 35 years? Franky im pissed off about it but at least to quell the anger the motorway should be moving!:rolleyes:

I don't think for one minute that the tolls are going to stop being collected once the contract term expires. It is a nice easy way to collect a new stream of revenue without being considered the bad guy. The tolls on the private roads seem to be clocking up at a rate of 10c per year for cars the only one that seems to be in the press is the M50 toll and that is because of the long queues. Once it is free flow the rates will clock up and all the time the tax take is increasing. I'd say as contract terms come to expire or additional capacity is required they'll be renegotiated like the m50 2nd bridge.

What I do object to is the fact that they are targetting certain areas for tolls. Why are people going North of the N3 and south of the N4 getting a free run?

Also why are there 5 different operators offering tags? There doesn't seem to be any price difference. Why not have one regulated authority responsible for collecting cashless tolls and let them divide out the money based on traffic volumes. 5 tag operators = 5 administrations and higher cost.

PPP the whole National roads network. I was in Canada last year highway 407 is tolled. Rate was fairly steep but we went from one end of Toronto to the other in no time. Reg on the car was captured at entry and exit and based on distance you paid your toll.

darkman2

Its important to remember that the NRA confirmed yesterday that the motorway is only going to be tolled between the N3 and N4 for the 'forseeable future'.......so if you want to avoid the toll take a detour between the N3 and N4 - simple!:)

darkman2

rekrow wrote: »

Also why are there 5 different operators offering tags? There doesn't seem to be any price difference. Why not have one regulated authority responsible for collecting cashless tolls and let them divide out the money based on traffic volumes. 5 tag operators = 5 administrations and higher cost.

Its suppose to be for competition to keep prices down but I think the dogs in street know that they will get together in some pub and work out a junket to keep prices high amongst themselves.

rekrow

Hi darkman2, I think your reading of the post is correct. There will be more tolls over time and so long as the road infrastructure matches them and the contracts are fair then I have no problems paying them. What I can't figure out is why they are waiting to bring equity to the consumer. While there are single point tolls there is a temptation for people to leave the road for the duration of the toll. If there were 10 tolls along the route and the revenue collection spread among them then there trying to avoid the toll would be pointless.

Skyhater

darkman2 wrote: »

Its important to remember that the NRA confirmed yesterday that the motorway is only going to be tolled between the N3 and N4 for the 'forseeable future'.......so if you want to avoid the toll take a detour between the N3 and N4 - simple!:)

There's nothing "simple" about taking a "detour between the N3 and N4"

Take N4 exit > Lucan (que) > Clonsilla (que) > Blanchardstown (que) > N3 > Back onto M50 (Que).
I'd pay my 2.50 anyday to avoid that backroad rat-run.

ardmacha

The obvious thing to do would have been to charge everyone using the M50 €1, instead of allowing most journeys free and charging €2 between the N4 and N3.

Colm R

Good idea. I had another thought also. And this is just a thought, to be put out there, debated and then binned, but its just an idea, so please don't ridicule me.

The M50 was suppose to be a bypass of the city. Therefore, charge anyone who uses it to enter the city.

Free to anyone going on the M50.

Free to anyone coming from the country going directly to the city and not onto the M50 thus encouraging people to access the city from their point of origin.

Free to anyone who exits the M50 and goes outbound on any route.

A toll at each slip road which takes you in the direction of the city.

Done, bypass.

To be honest, as I typed the above, I can see the flaws.

ipodrocker

Does the etoll mean if for example you use the m50 from junction 17 to 14 you would have to pay 2euro every time or is only if you go over the current toll bridge?

Mitch Connor

ipodrocker wrote: »

Does the etoll mean if for example you use the m50 from junction 17 to 14 you would have to pay 2euro every time or is only if you go over the current toll bridge?

current toll bridge - if you don't pay a toll now, don't worry about it, for now.

owenob

Colm R wrote: »

Good idea. I had another thought also. And this is just a thought, to be put out there, debated and then binned, but its just an idea, so please don't ridicule me.

The M50 was suppose to be a bypass of the city. Therefore, charge anyone who uses it to enter the city.

Free to anyone going on the M50.

Heya Colm,
I had pretty much the same idea - why are people who use the motorway for its intended purpose being charged, while those that use it to skip traffic aren't!

I think they should toll in inverse proportion to how far you travel on the M50. If you travel the entire length, it's free (or dead cheap). If you only travel between two exits it's expensive. And then have a sliding scale based on number-of-exits travelled.

As for the person who said the current policies were driving people away from the M50 - Fantastic! more space on it for those that have to use it! That's part of the reason for tolls - to stop you using the road.

I'm seriously loving the 4-lane heaven this week!

Owen

aheno

If you look at the payment options page on the eflow website
http://www.eflow.ie/open_account.php
They have a nice star informing you that the Tag registering option is 25% cheaper than the video registration option.

€2.00 is 20% cheaper than €2.50.

Doesn't give you much confidence in them, does it?
False advertising anyone?

aheno

aheno wrote: »

If you look at the payment options page on the eflow website
http://www.eflow.ie/open_account.php
They have a nice star informing you that the Tag registering option is 25% cheaper than the video registration option.

€2.00 is 20% cheaper than €2.50.

Doesn't give you much confidence in them, does it?
False advertising anyone?

But 2.50 is 25% higher than 2.00 :rolleyes:

Guy:Incognito

Colm R wrote: »

Good idea. I had another thought also. And this is just a thought, to be put out there, debated and then binned, but its just an idea, so please don't ridicule me.

The M50 was suppose to be a bypass of the city. Therefore, charge anyone who uses it to enter the city.

Free to anyone going on the M50.

Free to anyone coming from the country going directly to the city and not onto the M50 thus encouraging people to access the city from their point of origin.

Free to anyone who exits the M50 and goes outbound on any route.

A toll at each slip road which takes you in the direction of the city.

Done, bypass.

To be honest, as I typed the above, I can see the flaws.

Yeah, a major flaw being say if you live in Tallaght and come off at the exit, but want to go to the Texaco garage, you'd get tolled. Also if your going to the Spawell or Rathfarnham , Terenure, Walkinstown, Crumlin etc etc etc your going to get tolled. Maybe if it clocked you leaving the M50 and entering a congestion zone type area around the city centre within a certain time, then you get tolled.

aheno

Deleted User wrote: »

But 2.50 is 25% higher than 2.00 :rolleyes:

Yeah? So?

2.50 is 25% more than 2.00
2.00 is 20% less than 2.50

they are totally different things.
you really want to get this straight in your head before the next time your boss starts talking about a salary raise.

..and for the cheap seats, 25% less than 2.50 is 1.875

aheno

aheno wrote: »

Yeah? So?

2.50 is 25% more than 2.00
2.00 is 20% less than 2.50

they are totally different things.
you really want to get this straight in your head before the next time your boss starts talking about a salary raise.

..and for the cheap seats, 25% less than 2.50 is 1.875

A bit pedantic, so you are...

What I was intending to refer to was the fact that the advert is incorrect as you have pointed out, that the 25% relates to an increase of 50c over €2 rather than a decrease of 50c from €2.50.

The advert should state that the camera option is 25% more than the prepay to be correct.

Smart arse answers will not win you any friends here :mad:

hilaryb

i have read these posts with interest. personally i hate the idea of gettign a tag. i dont want any more bills and i dont use the m50 that often. So being the pain in the arse that i am i did my research.

YOU DONT NEED TO GET A TAG.

you can pay as you go on the WEB, on the phone or you can pay cash in loads of shops. The shops are the ones with the Payzone sign where you top up the mobile.

Thats the one for me. sickened to be ripped off the extra few cent, but i have no intention of getting a tag. NO WAY.

aheno

Deleted User wrote: »

A bit pedantic, so you are...

What I was intending to refer to was the fact that the advert is incorrect as you have pointed out, that the 25% relates to an increase of 50c over €2 rather than a decrease of 50c from €2.50.

The advert should state that the camera option is 25% more than the prepay to be correct.

Smart arse answers will not win you any friends here :mad:

Apologies if you thought my answer was smart arsed, but i dont take kindly to people contradicting what i have said and "rolling their eyes" implying that i have got it wrong. Not very well elaborated answers probably wont win me any friends either.

I dont think its pedantic to point out that they have got it wrong. If you see a sign on a shop window proclaiming 25% off, but when you go in they say "its really only 20%, we just said 25% to get you in the door", i dont think you would be too happy.
If someone is putting themselves forward to take your money for what some would see as a day to day utility, i think its only right to expect that they get all of their business in order and not be casual or slack about the details. In any other walk of life customers would walk.

aheno

aheno wrote: »

Apologies if you thought my answer was smart arsed, but i dont take kindly to people contradicting what i have said and "rolling their eyes" implying that i have got it wrong. Not very well elaborated answers probably wont win me any friends either.

I was rolling eyes at the website not your comments, it (my reply) was not as well written as it should have been.

mobpd

Deleted User wrote: »

The advert should state that the camera option is 25% more than the prepay to be correct.

I agree with you that they have the wrong wording on the website - I have posted a complaint to the advertising standards .....

Capt'n Midnight

I had thought the gov't had bought out the bridge ??

we the tax payer pay 100's of million for the bridge
and we pay for the tolling system 113 m or so
and we pay for the tolls

and still we have to pay private companies a sizable chunk of the toll :mad:

Let's not forget that NRA had a sliding scale of the toll and at current traffic volumes the gov't wad getting the lions share of each extra car


This is just a stealth tax. What was the point in buying out NRA if you are just going to have another private company taking up to 25% of the toll ( more if you pay late ).

L1011

NTR I presume you mean there Capt'n?

AlekSmart

I`m with Hilaryb on this one .....for occasional users simply stick with Cash over the counter and let this gang of borderline criminals simply wait for their extortionate Fee.

This entire stunt simply HAS to be one of the greatest stitch-ups of the poor unrepresented/misrepresented public ever attempted in Ireland and makes me wonder if we were a bit hasty in rebelling against the house of Windsor !

This stunt is being portrayed as some form of munificent favour which the NRA and the Government is engaging in to lighten the burden on the ordinary motorist,whilst in fact it is little more than a VERY nice little financial arrangement to GREATLY benefit a collection of new revenue collecting agencies,each of which will walk away with considerable profits to be invested in other juristictions.

There are enough outstanding and unanswered questions about the entire M50/WestLink to merit a Tribunal of its own.

Very few appear to make the point that this entire sorry mess is due to what amounts to Professional Negligence on the part of a variety of Professions from Planners,to Engineers of various hue`s.

We are told that the traffic flow increase caught all of these people out...convienently forgetting that the basic function of a Planners is to PLAN and that includes delving deep into trends and hidden indicators which the NRA/NTR in concert with the Lawlor/Burke/Redmond wing surely did NOT do.

Of course its always possible that this "Evil Alliance" actually did get it right....from THEIR perspective and that can surely be verified by the remarkably healthy state of National Toll Roads finances. :mad:

bazzer

If NTR think they can screw me out of even more money, they can kiss my ass. I'm never using that damn bridge again. :mad:

bazzer

bazzer wrote: »

If NTR think they can screw me out of even more money, they can kiss my ass. I'm never using that damn bridge again. :mad:

Plan "B" ?

I won't have any realistic alternative.

Capt'n Midnight

MYOB wrote:

NTR I presume you mean there Capt'n?

yeah

daymobrew

Deleted User wrote: »

The advert should state that the camera option is 25% more than the prepay to be correct.

I've reported this to the NRA. They knew about it and have it on a (big) list of complaints they have for the web developer. Of course it shouldn't have been made public looking as bad as it does.

faceman

maybe im stupid here, but does this render my Eazypass useless? Do i have to rent/buy a new tag?

L1011

No, it'll still work.

whosedaddy?

So for existing Eazypass, eTrip, etc tag holders nothing will change...

Also noticed that the eFlow pricing has no motorbikes... does that mean motorbikes are free from now on?

I guess the license plate reading will be done from the front - where there is none at a bike, so they might as well ignore bikes as a source of revenue.

wildsaffy

As far as I know at the moment there are no plans to charge motorbikes for using the M50 barrier free ....

faceman

wildsaffy wrote: »

As far as I know at the moment there are no plans to charge motorbikes for using the M50 barrier free ....

YAY!!!

2 toll bridges down for bikers now!

joseph brand

Why don't we just pay tolls on ALL the roads in Ireland.

Also, door charge at the hospitals, eh, any takers??

Pump up the price of food and petrol even more, and maybe laugh at us a bit more??

Sure, what can we do. Do a bit of complainin here and there, and then just get on with it, while these cronies fill their ever expanding pockets.
With their fat bellies and dirty grins.

Shame on the NTR. Fred Barry can lick my hairy brains. I'll give him 3 euro for that. :mad:

Victor

bazzer wrote: »

If NTR think they can screw me out of even more money, they can kiss my ass. I'm never using that damn bridge again. :mad:

NTR have been paid off, they won't be getting any more money.