From today, for motorists travelling on the A4 motorway between Katowice and Kraków, the barriers at toll plazas may raise automatically without the need to install any additional equipment in the vehicle. The concessionaire – Stalexport Autostrada Małopolska S.A. – has just launched a system allowing drivers to pay for their journey using the Autopay app, already familiar from AmberOne on the A1 motorway.
How does the electronic toll system work on the A4 motorway between Katowice and Kraków?
The Autopay app allows you to register your vehicle and link its registration number to a credit or debit card. Devices installed at the barriers read the number plate and automatically raise the barrier. Payment is made without driver intervention, making the journey very smooth. This is the first method of paying for a motorway journey that does not require the installation of additional equipment or payment ‘in advance’.
By introducing this solution, SAM SA is catering to both regular motorway users and those who use the A4 Katowice–Kraków motorway less frequently, for example when going on holiday or for a long weekend. The wider adoption of the Autopay app could significantly reduce journey times on the A4 Katowice–Kraków motorway, particularly during periods of heavy traffic.
– The launch of video tolling is the next, and at the same time a crucial, step – in terms of ease of use – and consequently traffic flow and travel comfort, of our programme to increase throughput at toll plazas. Enabling drivers to pay for their journeys using a significantly lowers the barrier to using electronic payments. The Autopay app is already operational already on the A1 motorway, so it is fair to say that we have just cleared the way along the most important routes for car-based holiday travel – says Rafał Czechowski, press officer for Stalexport Autostrada Małopolska.
How to pay for A4 using the Autopay app
Video tolling is a payment method based on the identification of a vehicle’s registration number, intended for passenger cars and vans (categories 1–5, excluding motorbikes). To use it, simply install the free Autopay app on your phone, available on Google Play and the App Store. When setting up an account in the app, you must provide your registration number and enter the details of a valid credit or debit card details.
Which gates to choose in Mysłowice and Balice
When entering the toll plaza in Mysłowice or Balice, you must choose the lane marked with a pictogram of a black camera on a yellow background. With Autopay users in mind, three lanes have been designated in each direction: two on the left-hand side and one on the right-hand side of the toll plaza. The left-handmost lane is reserved exclusively for automatic payments via Autopay and A4Go. If you accidentally enter an unmarked lane, you will you can still pay for your journey using Autopay by informing the toll collector of your intention, who will then activate the system – however, such a transaction will take considerably longer.
When entering the toll plaza, you do not need to be logged into the app or even have your phone with you – the system automatically reads the registration number, identifies the vehicle and raises the barrier. Half the toll will be charged at the entry gate and the other half at the exit gate.
What else does the Autopay app offer?
Autopay offers a range of benefits for users: within the app, you can set up a personal or business account, add several vehicles and link them to one or more credit and debit cards, track your and receive summary invoices for journeys.
The video toll system on the A4 motorway between Katowice and Kraków recognises not only the registration numbers of all EU countries , as well as Ukrainian number plates.
– We’re promoting the new service with the slogan: ‘Fast, not furious’, the inspiration for which is quite obvious. Three times faster, as the estimated throughput of the Autopay gates at the automatic payment lanes is three times that of the traditional system. Whilst a cash or card payment takes a good a dozen or so seconds, with videotolling the transaction is instantaneous. And a good mood whilst travelling depends to a large extent on the motorway users themselves: the more journeys paid for automatically, the shorter the waiting time at toll plazas – concludes Rafał Czechowski.
Blue Media is the partner responsible for implementing the video toll system on the A4 motorway between Katowice and Kraków and the developer of the Autopay app. The company has set itself the target of reducing carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere by 100 million kg by 2025, partly through the effective reduction in traffic jams at toll collection points.
Bank Millennium has recently implemented Autopay as an integral part of its mobile app.
Further information: A4 Katowice–Kraków motorway tolls in the Autopay app