Question 10290 — roads

Summary

Mr. Julien Guibert alerts the Minister of Transport to the worrying consequences of the generalization of so-called “free flow” tolls, which replace traditional barriers on certain portions of the French motorway network. This new system, presented as technological progress, requires users to pay the toll afterwards, exclusively electronically, via online platforms or applications. mobile. In the absence of payment within a limited period, an automatic increase is applied. This system raises several major difficulties: on the one hand, a large number of French people, particularly among the elderly, precarious or digitally alienated, do not have the tools or knowledge necessary to correctly pay online. They sometimes discover the existence of the device only when they receive a fine, without any clear information being provided to them in advance on the amount of the toll, the payment deadline or the procedure. On the other hand, the automation of payment and sanctions is part of a logic of pure profitability, disconnected from any public service mission. However, the concessioned motorways are part of a public service delegation. The replacement of toll barriers with an invisible system and impersonal leads to a suppression of physical information, human interaction and, ultimately, user support, for the exclusive benefit of the concession companies. There can be no question of privatizing revenues while outsourcing difficulties to users. The MP also questions the legal framework of these practices: it appears that the increases applied in the event of non-payment go directly to private companies, without State intervention or sufficient supervision. This drift, comparable to an “automatic toll-sanction”, accentuates the feeling of permanent policing and a decline in public service for the benefit of private actors. The MP therefore asks the Minister how the Government intends to guarantee the accessibility of payment to people who are not connected or digitally fragile, so that they are not unfairly punished. He also asks whether the Government considers it legitimate for financial increases to go directly to the concessionaires, as part of a public service delegation system. Finally, he asks him if the replacement of the traditional toll by this dematerialized system is not contrary to the very spirit of the delegation of public service, which implies continuity, accessibility and fairness in the service provided.

Machine translation from French. The official text remains authoritative.

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