Alternative to Eflow as due to dispute cannot be used

Damien360

Hi

From Kildare now site

Eflow tags from end of August cannot be used on M1/M7/M25 tag barriers. What are the alternatives as I need to ditch the Eflow one for one that works on all tolls.

http://www.kildarenow.com/news/have-you-an-eflow-tag-some-toll-stations-will-not-accept-your-tag-anymore/97623

pred racer

If it's true, I'll be asking the same question.

Edit: I just posted the link and a question on their Facebook page. No answer till tomorrow probably.

Kintarō Hattori

Well that's a right pain in the ass.... neither the missus or I would keep cash on our persons.

demanufactured

Easytrip.ie

Jesus.

ParkMagic.net

_Kaiser_

WTF.. why am I only hearing about this on boards would be my first question.

Who else does a post-pay tag then? No interest in PAYG/Top-up nonsense and I'd use the M7/8 regularly

ben9195

I have just been on to eFlow and they have assured me that there is no dispute and tag can be used on all roads as usual.

Damien360

ben9195 wrote: »

I have just been on to eFlow and they have assured me that there is no dispute and tag can be used on all roads as usual.

Nice one. So the story in Kildare Now complete with named source is bull ? Why in gods name would they do that ?

biko

ben9195 wrote: »

I have just been on to eFlow and they have assured me that there is no dispute and tag can be used on all roads as usual.

How did you get response? Over phone, mail, facebook comment?

magicpd

Hi, clearly the eflow call centre aren't all up to speed.
TII own all the eflow accounts, but the call centre etc are contracted to run the operation for eflow. (info on the eflow website)
Cathal Masterson, Head of Tolling at TII is the source of this. And it wasn't published by the kildare source, it was in the Sunday Business Post yesterday. businesspost.ie/up-to-80000-motorists-to-be-hit-by-eflow-contracts-dispute/
You'll need an account or the actual paper to get the full story.
eFlow call centre are not the people to speak to.
In terms of alternatives, easytrip is the biggest after eflow, and they have offers at the moment on Groupon to get a tag with FREE TOLLING CREDIT!!!
So you can switch now, still use all the plazas including the three that are going to be switched off, M1, M&/M8 and N25, and you get some free credit also. groupon.ie/deals/easytrip-services-ireland-ltd-4
Cash in your pocket and a tag that works on all the plazas.
If you look on your Twitter feed they are slightly better informed as the eflow rep is admitting that this is true twitter.com/eflow_freeflow/status/742379342139908096
So, if you want to not carry cash, use the express lanes etc you should get another tag.

ben9195

biko wrote: »

How did you get response? Over phone, mail, facebook comment?

Over the phone. .

Guy:Incognito

magicpd wrote: »

If you look on your Twitter feed they are slightly better informed as the eflow rep is admitting that this is true twitter.com/eflow_freeflow/status/742379342139908096
So, if you want to not carry cash, use the express lanes etc you should get another tag.

Picking the 3rd tweet in isolation does make it sound like thats it alright, but in the context of the conversation, its an ongoing negotiation with 2 and a half months of discussions still available. Much like anything of the sort, each side will concede a bit and meet in the middle before armageddon (or mild inconvenience, whichever suits )


1/5 Hi Rory, yes this is true. Discussions between Transport infrastructure Ireland (eFlow) and CRG will continue with
2/5 the aim of resolving this matter as quickly as possible for our customers however if an agreement is not made then, as of
3/5 August 31st eFlow tags will no longer be accepted on the M1, M7/M8 and M25. Tags will continue to work
4/5 on all other toll plazas. We will keep all our customers informed with up to date information as this situation progresses.

markpb

This is wacky stuff. All tolls in Ireland are operated under a contract with the government, either as part of a PPP or directly (eFlow). How hard is it for TII to ensure that the contract requires all of them to participate in eToll?

It's almost as daft as the toll in Limerick that accepts makey-up tokens but not Visa or Mastercard.

magicpd

So, the snip of the tweet wasn't to show validity, more to show that some of the staff in eflow are in the know and others are not. This thread started as a question as to the end of august being the deadline. The tweet confirms thats the date. However, the rest of the tweet just shows the eflow spin on the story, the sunday business post article is from TII, and there's no ambiguity on the date or the tweet tale of discussions still happening.
It might not happen, all things are possible.

_Kaiser_

magicpd wrote: »

Hi, clearly the eflow call centre aren't all up to speed.
TII own all the eflow accounts, but the call centre etc are contracted to run the operation for eflow. (info on the eflow website)
Cathal Masterson, Head of Tolling at TII is the source of this. And it wasn't published by the kildare source, it was in the Sunday Business Post yesterday. businesspost.ie/up-to-80000-motorists-to-be-hit-by-eflow-contracts-dispute/
You'll need an account or the actual paper to get the full story.
eFlow call centre are not the people to speak to.
In terms of alternatives, easytrip is the biggest after eflow, and they have offers at the moment on Groupon to get a tag with FREE TOLLING CREDIT!!!
So you can switch now, still use all the plazas including the three that are going to be switched off, M1, M&/M8 and N25, and you get some free credit also. groupon.ie/deals/easytrip-services-ireland-ltd-4
Cash in your pocket and a tag that works on all the plazas.
If you look on your Twitter feed they are slightly better informed as the eflow rep is admitting that this is true twitter.com/eflow_freeflow/status/742379342139908096
So, if you want to not carry cash, use the express lanes etc you should get another tag.

I had easytrip.. it was a pain in the ass trying to make sure there was always credit on it or being hit with another DD request. Plus as I recall it always kept a tenner that couldn't be used (no doubt how they make their money)

So who else offers a post-pay/monthly bill or are we stuck with PAYG options now?

Damien360

The EasyTrip tag is not really a great alternative. It is a prepaid service.

My tolls are on average 70 to 80 per month. I know I could set an auto top up of 80 per month but it is much more traceable to have a charge for actual usage.

Are there no other operators that cover all the tolls ?

Nonoperational

I suspect they will sort this before they go through with withdrawing.

magicpd

they story is on the eflow website now. Looks pretty solid...
eflow.ie/community/sponsorship/

ben9195

Up to 80,000 motorists may be affected as eFlow toll tags stop working on the M1, M7 and N25
From August 31st until further notice, eFlow’s electronic toll tags may no longer work at toll plazas operated by the Celtic Roads Group (CRG).

The following tolls roads will be affected:

M1 (Gormanston – Monasterboice)
M7/M8 (Portlaoise – Castletown/Portlaoise – Cullahill)
N25 (Waterford City Bypass)
This means that eFlow customers who have tag accounts will have to pay with cash or card at these toll plazas; tags may not be recognised.

These measures have been put in place to protect the integrity of the service that eFlow provides for their tag customers.

At present, in order for a tag to be recognised as you pass through a toll plaza, the operator of the toll (CRG) must have an Agreement with the tag provider (eFlow). Unfortunately, due to reasons outside of our control, an Agreement has not yet been made. This means, until further notice, eFlow tag customers may not be able to use their tags at CRG toll plazas.

We hope that this won't happen however discussions between Transport infrastructure Ireland (eFlow) and CRG will continue with the aim of resolving this matter as quickly as possible for our customers.

In the meantime, your eFlow tag will continue operate as normal at the following toll plazas: Still in discussions

pred racer

Reply from Eflow on Facebook.

eflow.ie Hi Edwin, yes this is true. We hope it won't happen and discussions between Transport Infrastructure Ireland (eFlow) and CRG will continue with the aim of resolving this matter as quickly as possible for our customers. However, if an agreement is not made then, as of August 31st eFlow tags will no longer be accepted on the M1, M7/M8 and M25. Tags will continue to work on all other toll plazas. We will keep all our customers informed with up to date information as this situation progresses. Let me know if I can help with anything else.

RandomAccess

I use a ParkMagic TollTag,
I've never had any trouble with it and it tops up automatically.

https://bookings.parkmagic.net/MyAccount/Home/OrderTollTags

Mine must be the PayAsYouToll+ but I bought it ages ago so not sure on pricing at the time.
The company takes a 10% tip on each toll. For me it was worth it cos I hated fiddling with change and the express lane is also a great job.
I bought mine shortly after the M50 went barrier free as they were pissing me of royally with bogus claims that I had not been paying.

Damien360

RandomAccess wrote: »

I use a ParkMagic TollTag,
I've never had any trouble with it and it tops up automatically.

https://bookings.parkmagic.net/MyAccount/Home/OrderTollTags

Mine must be the PayAsYouToll+ but I bought it ages ago so not sure on pricing at the time.
The company takes a 10% tip on each toll. For me it was worth it cos I hated fiddling with change and the express lane is also a great job.
I bought mine shortly after the M50 went barrier free as they were pissing me of royally with bogus claims that I had not been paying.

Thats very expensive. Mine is 1.23 each month rental charge

darragh o meara

I'd be highly surprised if this goes ahead, it would be business suicide if 80,000 members upped sticks and changed to a competitor, unless the owners of these toll roads are planning on setting up their own tag service and won't bother letting anyone else in..

Either way it'll be a pain in the ass for me and many others..

RandomAccess

Damien360 wrote: »

Thats very expensive. Mine is 1.23 each month rental charge

Click the link I sent, they do a rental option as well, which is 1.21 a month
I don't use mine very often.

Damien360

RandomAccess wrote: »

Click the link I sent, they do a rental option as well, which is 1.21 a month
I don't use mine very often.

Ah, I see it now. 3 plans, light, medium, heavy

Foo King Ell

darragh o meara wrote: »

I'd be highly surprised if this goes ahead, it would be business suicide if 80,000 members upped sticks and changed to a competitor, unless the owners of these toll roads are planning on setting up their own tag service and won't bother letting anyone else in..

Either way it'll be a pain in the ass for me and many others..

Darragh - they don't care, eflow isn't a private company, it's the STATE. TII (Transport Infrastructure Ireland) charge you every day for using the toll road on the M50. eFlow is just the name on the door. You're paying the taxman directly. They aren't a business!!!

Foo King Ell

RandomAccess wrote: »

I use a ParkMagic TollTag,
I've never had any trouble with it and it tops up automatically.

bookings.parkmagic.net/MyAccount/Home/OrderTollTags[/url]

Mine must be the PayAsYouToll+ but I bought it ages ago so not sure on pricing at the time.
The company takes a 10% tip on each toll. For me it was worth it cos I hated fiddling with change and the express lane is also a great job.
I bought mine shortly after the M50 went barrier free as they were pissing me of royally with bogus claims that I had not been paying.

Is this the same company? irishexaminer.com/ireland/cork-city-council-phone-in-parking-scheme-deficient-322481.html

Not sure I'd be giving them over my cash...got to be another choice

ThisRegard

I got an email from Easytrip on this today

Dear Easytrip Customer,

Easytrip account holders are not affected by TII’s (formerly National Roads Authority) recent announcement regarding changes to eFlow toll tag acceptance.

TII has announced that eFlow toll tags will no longer work at the following major toll plazas from 31st August 2016;
M1 Toll at Drogheda on main Dublin to Belfast road
M7 / M8 Toll at Portlaoise
N25 / N7 at Waterford on Cork link road
As an Easytrip customer, you are not affected. Easytrip tags will continue to be accepted at all lanes, at all toll plazas and car parks nationwide.

For more information on Easytrip products and services go to www.easytrip.ie or call 1890 67 67 68.

jma

As far as I can tell, EasyTrip offers the same as eFlow. No upfront charges, just €12 plus VAT for the year in admin charges. That's still cheaper than the ParkMagic PAYG option, even if calculated over a 2-year-basis. The ParkMagic Lease option is 20 cents cheaper than EasyTrip over a 1-year period, but you pay €40 upfront (€20 deposit and €20 credit).

Or did I miss something?

listermint

This smells of the road owners upping their prices and eflow sticking to their guns on percentage profit.

Solid contract of ownership their worked out by the government. As usual.

Similar to the farce of the m50 toll bridge paying for itself over and over and over and over and over

JamesBond2010

Are Easy trip basically the same as E-flow then ? u can use the express lane?

_Kaiser_

JamesBond2010 wrote: »

Are Easy trip basically the same as E-flow then ? u can use the express lane?

Yes but Easytrip are PAYG meaning you always need "credit" in your account with them and - unless its changed - there'll be a tenner you can never access.

Is there no other proper post-pay option??? I hate PAYG as a rule - like most people I get paid once a month and thus prefer one monthly bill.

Autosport

This is going to be a right pain. I'd say a lot of people will leave eflow now.

jma

_Kaiser_ wrote: »

Yes but Easytrip are PAYG meaning you always need "credit" in your account with them and - unless its changed - there'll be a tenner you can never access.

Is there no other proper post-pay option??? I hate PAYG as a rule - like most people I get paid once a month and thus prefer one monthly bill.

No, that's ParkMagic with the 12 EUR minimum, I think... I think you are right about the PAYG with EasyTrip, but you can set your own low balance threshold, and I'm guessing you could just set it to 0.00 or 5.00.

Post-pay would be a lot more convenient, though

jma

I think I'm just going to stick with eFlow... I really only ever use the tolls on the M6, M4 and the M50. Maybe the Limerick Tunnel on occasion.

cruizer101

I find easytrip grand, there is a low balance auto top-up on my account so yes while technically prepay I don't actually have to top up it does it automatically. They send out a monthly statement of all tolls paid and top-ups, I can use it in Q-Park carparks very handy. Never had any issues with them over 4 years of using them.

pippip

Might be useful for some here at this time.

up to €35 credit for €20 when opening a new account with them.

http://www.pigsback.com/offer/230815/easytrip

TheDoc

Autosport wrote: »

This is going to be a right pain. I'd say a lot of people will leave eflow now.

Thankfully doesn't affect me.

From the reading I've done though, I'd be supporting eflow here. Sounds like the road owners involved want to jack the pricing up, and e-flow feel it unreasonable and won't jack up customer pricing.

So happy for them to stick to their guns on this, and should happen more. And also brings to light the ridiculous situation with our road ownership. Cant wait for the Minister for transport to throw back a "this is a dispute between two private entities" garbage.

Again probably no big deal because it doesnt affect me, but E-Flow are easily one of the best service providers I deal with, their customer support has always been top notch.

JamesBond2010

easytrip f/book are quick to reply i just posted a comment & 3mins l8r they replied. I'm a eflow customer though hardly woth changing it just for one Toll the M7/8 Portlaoise toll.(i only use that when going to dublin not that often)

Autosport

I'm not doubting Eflow but one of the routes I use weekly is being affected and that's why I have to leave.

marno21

http://www.newstalk.com/eFlow-toll-tags-dispute-Celtic-Roads-Group-Transport-Infrastructure-Ireland-TII-M1-M7-M8-N25

CRG: "This is beyond our control."

What the ****?

A great use for my 10c coins that I have collecting at home.

Craigevans1985

TheDoc wrote: »

Thankfully doesn't affect me.

From the reading I've done though, I'd be supporting eflow here. Sounds like the road owners involved want to jack the pricing up, and e-flow feel it unreasonable and won't jack up customer pricing.

So happy for them to stick to their guns on this, and should happen more. And also brings to light the ridiculous situation with our road ownership. Cant wait for the Minister for transport to throw back a "this is a dispute between two private entities" garbage.

Again probably no big deal because it doesnt affect me, but E-Flow are easily one of the best service providers I deal with, their customer support has always been top notch.

So, the original story in the sunday Business post was a little clearer. "TII had sought what it felt was a sustainable commercial arrangement" this is Tii getting payment for themselves in place, it's nothing to do with the customer.

Tii are the road owner. They also dictate the toll rates at the plazas, CRG maintain and manage the road. Tii are not campaigning here to protect the poor commuter. 😂

You are paying for the tolls that Tii charge on the roads that they own at the rates they have told the plazas to charge you.

Easytrip might not be perfect but at least they aren't the taxman

markpb

Craigevans1985 wrote:

Tii are the road owner. They also dictate the toll rates at the plazas, CRG maintain and manage the road. Tii are not campaigning here to protect the poor commuter. 😂

Are you sure that's the case for the toll roads that are in this dispute? My understanding is that CRG built the roads and have the right to toll them and retain the revenue for a certain number of years. I presume the increase in tolls over time is limited by inflation rather than being set by TII or CRG.

If the toll amount is being disputed, why are eFlow tag holders being targeted?

Craigevans1985

markpb wrote: »

Are you sure that's the case for the toll roads that are in this dispute? My understanding is that CRG built the roads and have the right to toll them and retain the revenue for a certain number of years. I presume the increase in tolls over time is limited by inflation rather than being set by TII or CRG.

If the toll amount is being disputed, why are eFlow tag holders being targeted?

Straight from TII website.

"Toll roads in Ireland are generally located on major interurban corridors and impose a toll (levy or charge) on each vehicle using them. TII is responsible for overseeing the procurement and implementation of new tolling arrangements, and for monitoring and managing existing tolling arrangements on the national road network."

The toll amount is not being disputed, hence zero impact for other tag companies like easytrip, eazypass etc.

Citizens info spells it out really well. citizensinformation.ie/en/travel_and_recreation/roads_and_safety/national_toll_roads_in_ireland.html

marno21

Craigevans1985 wrote: »

Straight from TII website.

"Toll roads in Ireland are generally located on major interurban corridors and impose a toll (levy or charge) on each vehicle using them. TII is responsible for overseeing the procurement and implementation of new tolling arrangements, and for monitoring and managing existing tolling arrangements on the national road network."

The toll amount is not being disputed, hence zero impact for other tag companies like easytrip, eazypass etc.

Citizens info spells it out really well. citizensinformation.ie/en/travel_and_recreation/roads_and_safety/national_toll_roads_in_ireland.html

The only non-private tolls in Dublin at present are the 3 in Dublin, the Port Tunnel, West & East Link bridges.

All others are run by PPP concessionaires (M1, M3, M4, M6, M7/M8, M8, N18 & N25)

markpb

Craigevans1985 wrote:

"Toll roads in Ireland are generally located on major interurban corridors and impose a toll (levy or charge) on each vehicle using them. TII is responsible for overseeing the procurement and implementation of new tolling arrangements, and for monitoring and managing existing tolling arrangements on the national road network."

That's exactly what I said. It doesn't explain what you said earlier about TII setting the toll rates and looking out for their own interests.

Foo King Ell

I think that he's right, all these things are on the TII website. They own the roads, sublet the tolling operations, negotiate the contracts, and agree the rates.
tii.ie/roads-tolling/tolling-information/statutory-notices/
This is a negotiation between TII and that CRG crowd, but TII appointed CRG in the first place and agreed all the rates with them, so now it seems that they are trying to do a Mrs Doyle on them and change the rates. You will, you will, you will, you will, YOU WILL.

magicpd

_Kaiser_ wrote: »

Yes but Easytrip are PAYG meaning you always need "credit" in your account with them and - unless its changed - there'll be a tenner you can never access.

Is there no other proper post-pay option??? I hate PAYG as a rule - like most people I get paid once a month and thus prefer one monthly bill.

Think it's to stop you getting your tag blocked? Post it to Easytrip facebook and ask them

marno21

Anyone know the lowest denomination of coin accepted by CRG at the three plazas?

Craigevans1985

marno21 wrote: »

Anyone know the lowest denomination of coin accepted by CRG at the three plazas?

😀 I'd say they'd take blood.

If you hand into the cashier they have to accept all coins, the basket probably no copper.

Craigevans1985

Brother sent me this on too, free tolling credit

pigsback.com/offer/230815