The toll on the M6

Xiney

How does that work? I tried google but it keeps bringing up Birmingham.

How much is it? Do you pay in cash or do they accept cards?

Hennybug

It's €1.90 at Ballinasloe and €2.90 at the next one. They take cash and I think credit cards

Xiney

cool, thanks!

coldwood92

U prepaid the tag

mossfort

its a rip off if your driving a commercial jeep.

sgthighway

mossfort wrote: »

its a rip off if your driving a commercial jeep.

If its a commercial jeep I would imagine the cost of the toll can be put down as and expense by the person who owns the commercial jeep.

kraggy

Hennybug wrote: »

It's €1.90 at Ballinasloe and €2.90 at the next one. They take cash and I think credit cards

They take credit cards at both but they only take Laser at the Galway one.

Also, if you're in a rush and wondering if you can put a 2 euro coin in the basket in the "Exact Coins Only" lane, when the price is 1.90, the answer is yes.

KevR

Pictures of the M6 toll plaza courtesy of tech2 over on the Infrastructure forum:

tech2 wrote:

Approaching the toll plaza

The M4 is pretty much the same except for there are more lanes through that toll (18 lanes as opposed to 12 lanes I think on the M6). As Hennybug mentioned, the M6 is €1.90 (which is quite reasonable) and the M4 is €2.90 (which is a rip-off).

If you go in one of the Exact Change lanes you throw your money (coins only) into a 'bucket' and don't get any change if you throw in €2 for example on the M6.

If you go to a lane with a casier you can pay with coins or notes and get change. You can also pay by credit card at a cashier lane. As far as I know, the M4 toll takes Laser. I would assume the M6 toll does too but I'm not really certain. I think most toll roads in Ireland take Laser but not all do.

You can only use the Express Lane (the lane on the very right that's sort of seperated by plastic bollards) if you have an electronic tag.

KevR

For anyone who is interested/curious, I forgot I had a couple of pictures of the M4 toll plaza myself. I think it's one of the widest toll plazas in Europe (in terms of number of lanes - 18). Impressive! Pity about the price though..

Click thumbnails for full-size images

kraggy

KevR wrote: »

Pictures of the M6 toll plaza courtesy of tech2 over on the Infrastructure forum:


The M4 is pretty much the same except for there are more lanes through that toll (18 lanes as opposed to 12 lanes I think on the M6). As Hennybug mentioned, the M6 is €1.90 (which is quite reasonable) and the M4 is €2.90 (which is a rip-off).

If you go in one of the Exact Change lanes you throw your money (coins only) into a 'bucket' and don't get any change if you throw in €2 for example on the M6.

If you go to a lane with a casier you can pay with coins or notes and get change. You can also pay by credit card at a cashier lane. As far as I know, the M4 toll takes Laser. I would assume the M6 toll does too but I'm not really certain. I think most toll roads in Ireland take Laser but not all do.

You can only use the Express Lane (the lane on the very right that's sort of seperated by plastic bollards) if you have an electronic tag.

Just to reiterate what I said in my post above, the toll in Galway (M6) accepts Laser but the one closer to Dublin (M6) does not.

But both accept Credit Cards.

Robbo

mossfort wrote: »

its a rip off if your driving a commercial jeep.

It's a ripoff what I pay in motor tax compared to people in commercialised Land Cruisers but thems the breaks.

Saruman

mossfort wrote: »

its a rip off if your driving a commercial jeep.

If you pay at an automated booth then you would only be charged normal rates. Surely they can not tell its a commercial.

galwayrush

Apparently, 1.25 cents added to every litre of Petrol / Diesel would bring in as much money as all the Tolls in the country put together, without the enormous expense of building and running them.:rolleyes:

Saruman

That could be true but the only Toll road that the Government owns is the M50 is it not? I am probably wrong but the others are private. The m4 and m6 are so there is no cost for the government and since those companies paid for some of the actual motorway they saved the government money.

Again I could be wrong about what I just said but that is how I understand it.

galwayrush

Saruman wrote: »

That could be true but the only Toll road that the Government owns is the M50 is it not? I am probably wrong but the others are private. The m4 and m6 are so there is no cost for the government and since those companies paid for some of the actual motorway they saved the government money.

Again I could be wrong about what I just said but that is how I understand it.

I think you are correct, the sad bit about the M50 Toll is that a very high percentage of it goes to pay off buying it back from a company that had already made their money back ten fold on the original deal. Ap[arently, it cost 30 million, but after they made that back with an enormous profit, our kind Government decided to let them have it for another period of time, then decided to buy it back off them for 450 million over the next 10 years.:(
The private companies operating the other Tolls have to maintain the roads as part of their deal, but i think they only partially invested in the building of the roads.

central park

Is there any way of pre paying the toll such as a tag or something for the M6? I hate having to root for change in the car!

?Cee?view

central park wrote: »

Is there any way of pre paying the toll such as a tag or something for the M6? I hate having to root for change in the car!

http://www.easytrip.ie

central park

Thanks for reply but just checked that link and it doesn't seem to nclude M6

?Cee?view

central park wrote: »

Thanks for reply but just checked that link and it doesn't seem to nclude M6

Website musn't be up to date, because it's the tag that I use. It's dead handy.

central park

Sounds like just the job but where do you get it?

Accountsplus

The eflow tag also works on the M6.
I know because several of my clients use it.
You can prepay or post pay (this has to be DD, I think).
Check out www.eflow.ie.
BTW, The tag is actually much bigger than I expected

?Cee?view

central park wrote: »

Sounds like just the job but where do you get it?

Home page of the website has a link to the page where you "sign up"

merchant08

KevR wrote: »

For anyone who is interested/curious, I forgot I had a couple of pictures of the M4 toll plaza myself. I think it's one of the widest toll plazas in Europe (in terms of number of lanes - 18). Impressive! Pity about the price though..

Click thumbnails for full-size images

You've obviously never driven outside Ireland so;)

Most French tolls are a min of 18 lanes each side. The reason for this is that tolls in france are usually per km, so therefore not as simple as dropping E2.90 in a basket, you have to find out what you owe then pay so massive delays

Hagar

KevR wrote: »

For anyone who is interested/curious, I forgot I had a couple of pictures of the M4 toll plaza myself. I think it's one of the widest toll plazas in Europe (in terms of number of lanes - 18). Impressive! Pity about the price though..

Click thumbnails for full-size images

Not even close, you need to get out more.

I count at least 16 lanes in just one direction and 24 in the other on this motorway in France and there may be bigger.

Saruman

Jaysus that must be a busy road. All those lanes on the right and there is still a tailback of up to 30 cars in some of those lanes

ahmedwageeh

Here is the M4 and M6 road map and where toll is located on each map.

http://www.nra.ie/RepositoryforPublicationsInfo/file,16997,en.pdf (M6)

http://www.nra.ie/RepositoryforPublicationsInfo/file,16996,en.pdf (M4)

http://www.nra.ie/Publications/DownloadableDocumentation/PublicPrivatePartnership/file,11110,en.pdf (M4)

http://infoireland.wordpress.com/2010/04/14/toll-fees-and-locations-in-ireland/ (All Tolls in Ireland)

apoeiguq3094y

ahmedwageeh wrote: »

Here is the M4 and M6 road map and where toll is located on each map.



http://infoireland.wordpress.com/2010/04/14/toll-fees-and-locations-in-ireland/ (All Tolls in Ireland)

The maps of all tolls is a bit out of date, the limerick tunnel and the M7/M8 toll aren't on it.

Off topic i know... but the limerick toll doesn't take cards at all, which is a disaster.

blueburd

motor way is privately own by investors....


what the HELL am i paying motor tax for!!

i have to pay 10Euro back and forth from galway to dublin!


ridiculous!

?Cee?view

blueburd wrote: »

motor way is privately own by investors....


what the HELL am i paying motor tax for!!

i have to pay 10Euro back and forth from galway to dublin!


ridiculous!

If it bothers you that much you could just take the old road.

Mrs OBumble

blueburd wrote: »

motor way is privately own by investors....


what the HELL am i paying motor tax for!!

To pay for the access roads you use to get on/off the motorway, and the medical treatment of people who get injured in accidents.

Head The Wall

I'd better not tell you so about the contracts they signed with the govt whereby us taxpayers pay the toll road operators if there isn't a certain amount of vehicles a day through the tolls

Low road traffic levels could cost State €100m

TAXPAYERS COULD face a bill of at least €100 million for the National Roads Authority to compensate the consortiums that built the M3 motorway and the Limerick Tunnel, because traffic levels are much lower than predicted.

According to PlanBetter, a joint initiative of four groups – An Taisce, Friends of the Earth, Friends of the Irish Environment and Feasta – the bill will be far higher if traffic levels remain static or continue to fall in coming years.

Figures compiled by the group show traffic on the M3, which runs from Clonee to north of Kells, Co Meath, is almost 5,000 vehicles per day below the level at which penalty payments must be made to the Eurolink consortium that built it. Traffic would have to reach 26,250 vehicles per day to avoid penalties; however, daily traffic is “in or around 21,500” vehicles.

In the case of Limerick, the threshold for the new tunnel is 17,000 vehicles per day, but the actual level of traffic is about 13,500 daily, according to the group.

The 900m (0.56 miles) tunnel under the Shannon, west of Limerick city, is part of a 10km dual carriageway and associated roads built by DirectRoute, a consortium comprising Stabag AG, John Sisk, Lagan Holdings, Roadbridge, Meridiam, Sicar and AIB.

Opening the €660 million project last July, Taoiseach Brian Cowen said it would “make life a lot easier for the people of Limerick” by taking up to 40,000 vehicles per day out of the city centre. Tolls for cars are €1.80, while trucks must pay €5.70.

The €900 million M3, which opened last June, was built – after controversy over its route past the Hill of Tara – by Eurolink, a consortium comprising Siac and Spanish firm Ferrovial. Car drivers must pay €1.30 twice to use the route.

“The M3 and Limerick Tunnel contracts are proof . . . that penalty clauses based on never-ending growth hang taxpayers out to dry,” PlanBetter said. “The contracts are naive in that there is no amendment or reset clause. The PPP [public private partnership] contracts highlight another failure by Government to regulate. This time, a public organisation got wrapped up in the myth of high, endless levels of growth.”

It said the road authority’s reputation “has been holed below the waterline with these revelations” as it continued to ignore a 7 per cent fall in traffic over the last two years and still used a 2003 multiplier that assumes traffic growth of over 2 per cent every year.

A roads authority spokesman said a “revenue guarantee arrangement” was a common feature of PPP contracts throughout Europe. Its purpose was to “enhance the fundability of these projects and attract more competitive funding terms”. He added that there had been no payments made to date to either consortium.

Fine Gael transport spokesman Simon Coveney TD said plans to impose a “swathe” of new tolls on motorists “could drive cars and trucks off the motorway network on which the State has spent millions of euro [and] push them back into towns and housing estates”.

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2010/1008/1224280636344.html

KevR

I'd love to see some proof of the 7% fall in traffic. Any traffic counts I have looked at suggest otherwise...

I think road opponents are using this myth of falling traffic levels to argue against roads. Even if traffic has fallen on some roads, it's not going to keep falling and will grow again in the years ahead so we should build roads to prepare for this.

There's also the fact that, not long ago, road opponents were using the argument that new roads just attract and generate more traffic; with the new roads eventually becoming full and jammed. Now they're trying to make out that traffic is declining and will do forever.............

Mrs OBumble

I like to think of myself not so much as a road-opponent, as an effective-transport-system proponent. Small but subtle difference.

Any fall in traffic levels is temporary, it'll be back.

Robbo

KevR wrote: »

I'd love to see some proof of the 7% fall in traffic. Any traffic counts I have looked at suggest otherwise...

I looked at the Planbetter press release on that and it doesn't mention any source for the "traffic counts" and neatly sidesteps the issue that even if the penalty clauses were called in, their €100m figure is for a possible total over the entire length of the PPP contract, based on the levels remaining static at whatever they've assessed them.

In short, the €100m figure is about as accurate as Stevie Wonder trying to hit double top after 10 pints. Flatten it out over 30 years in the PPP-stylee and you have a yearly bill roughly equivalent to what must be spent in frivolous Judicial reviews, ABP hearings and other methods of fillibuster so beloved of An Taisce, Friends of the Earth, nonono we're the Real Friends of the Earth, Salafia, Boba Fett Sweetman et al.

KevR

I don't think it will end up costing €100 million but even if it does cost the taxpayer that amount, we still got top quality infrastructure worth billions for less than €100 million. The taxpayer could never have afforded to pay the full cost of building all of these roads. Some of the PPP roads didn't require a minimum traffic gaurentee from the government which is great. A couple of them did require a gaurentee; they wouldn't have been built without the gaurentee. I'm glad they did get built. The Limerick Tunnel is hugely important for connecting Galway-Limerick-Cork; without it you could spend an hour trying to get across Limerick. The M18 Gort-Crusheen isn't a PPP and is being funded by the exchequer but it will encourage more traffic onto the Galway-Limerick-Cork corridor (including the Limerick Tunnel, so traffic levels will climb a bit closer to the 17,000 target; the M17/M18 and M20 in the years to come will also encourage more travel between our 2nd, 3rd and 4th cities).

testicle

sgthighway wrote: »

If its a commercial jeep I would imagine the cost of the toll can be put down as and expense by the person who owns the commercial jeep.

You can't expense tolls.

Saruman

testicle wrote: »

You can't expense tolls.

Eh what? ok perhaps civil servants can't as it is built in to their mileage rates but a private company which is where most commercial drivers work of course you can claim tolls.

I do.