by Mario
03-Feb 2010
All of this convenience comes with a cost. As you approach the entrance to an Autostrada the toll booths await. Head towards the booths marked BIGLIETTO (ticket) STAY AWAY from the ones marked TELEPASS. Telepass are drive-though lanes for subscribers with a transponder in their car. Once you get a ticket from the automated BIGLIETTO booth you are on your way. Many Autostrade intersect other Autostrade and allow you to cross over without having to stop, pay and get a new ticket.
Payment is due at the exit nearest to your destination. You have two payment options: credit cards or cash. If using a credit card head for the blue booths marked CARTE. Insert the ticket, wait for the amount to show and then insert a Visa, MC or AmEx card. Cash customers must go to the white booths with the international coin and cash symbol. If there is an attendant, give them the ticket, the amount owed will be displayed on a small screen.
At automated cash booths insert the ticket and then place the bills or coins the screen displays. Careful, I’ve had some malfunctioning machines spit change out with such vehemence that coins landed directly on the ground. Rather than risk an international incident with backed up drivers I just drove away and made a wish as if I was tossing coins in the Trevi fountain. I wished to meet the person that calibrated the machine’s firing mechanism.
If you want to see the exits on your route and even places where they lead to visit Autostrade. Click on the map locations and then click the white circles for the exit. A little window pops up that’s shows instances of other roads connecting from the exit. For calculating minds, digging around this site allows you to approximate the actual toll.
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