The motorway: our tips for paying less

Avoid tolls with ViaMichelin

Save money on your journey by only using the free sections of motorway! On the ViaMichelin site and app, you can activate the “avoid tolls” option to recalculate the time and cost of your journey by travelling via a route that excludes toll roads.

For example, for a journey from London to Manchester, you can save approximately £30 by not travelling on the toll sections. This could amount to up to 50% of the cost of your journey (depending on the fuel type and consumption of your vehicle). Avoiding the tolls will definitely make your journey longer and you’ll use more fuel, but the additional cost will be more than compensated for by being able to fill up your tank at cheaper fuel stations than those on the motorways.

The ViaMichelin GPS will continue to guide you and will warn you of any delays, diversions, etc. There’s nothing to stop you taking the motorway a little further on to benefit from a new free section that the app will show you!

Split your route

Splitting your route when you take the motorway will save you up to 20% in toll charges. This method involves taking one or more exit roads on your journey to reduce the number of miles travelled on the motorway network.

In other words, you keep leaving and re-joining the motorway. You lose a little time, since you have to go around the roundabout at the exit to get back onto the motorway, but all these little detours cost less than covering the same distance in one go.

Tip: before leaving the motorway, use the ViaMichelin app to check the real-time traffic. This will ensure that traffic jams won’t prevent you from re-joining the motorways. It would be a pity to lose more on time and fuel than what you’ve saved in toll charges!

Sign up to electronic tolls

If you use the motorway often, a good tip to reduce your toll budget is to take out an electronic toll subscription. As long as you make the same return trip at least ten times a month, you’ll benefit from a 30% reduction on toll charges for that particular journey.

This solution is particularly beneficial if you have a second home you often visit or if you need to travel on a motorway section with tolls to get to work. The reduction is automatically applied at the end of the month as soon as the 10 round trips have been logged.

Take part in carpooling

To reduce your motorway costs by up to 50%, take passengers with you! You can split the final costs according to the exact number of passengers; not to mention, it’s much nicer to have company when driving.

Sign up to a carpooling site to find people interested in the same journeys as you or to connect with drivers offering a car seat to a destination that you need to reach.

Tip: if you want to share your car with other travellers, make sure you map your journey plan and all the associated costs in advance using the ViaMichelin website. In this way, everyone can plan their budget without any unpleasant surprises.

You now know how to make the most of your motorway journey and pay less. Good luck and stay safe!