How to save on toll roads

The number of cars on the road continues to increase, and traffic jams have become the norm. Toll roads allow efficient regulation of traffic flows. And the driver has a choice - to stand in traffic for free (actually not) or save time on a toll road. In Russia, there are not so many toll road sections so far: these are the M-11 under construction from Moscow to St. Petersburg, the M-4 Don, the M-1 detour Odintsovo, and the Western High-Speed Diameter in St. Petersburg, they are mainly located near Moscow.

The topic of today's report is the M11 toll road Moscow-Solnechnogorsk (also called the toll Leningradka or the new Leningradka) and how to save on travel with a transponder. Go!

The first toll section of the M11 highway starts immediately beyond the Moscow Ring Road and ends near Solnechnogorsk. But not everyone needs to pay for it. For example, those who are heading to Dolgoprudny or those who are moving out of the Left-Bank Khimki. The concessionaire built the road there, and he set the barriers closer to Sheremetyevo.

Also, this road is the shortest and fastest route to all terminals of Sheremetyevo Airport. After all, it is far from always convenient to get to Sheremetyevo by train: a big company, a lot of luggage, you need terminal D, and also small children - of course, a car! But time is expensive, and therefore a toll road is better - faster and calmer.

An important difference of this toll road is that the highway was built from scratch, as an alternative to the existing Leningradskoye Highway, and not only there are many alternatives, it is Pyatnitskoye Highway and Dmitrovskoye Highway, depending on who needs it.

Toll roads also need to be able to use. As in Moscow’s public transport, you use a Troika pass, and on toll roads you should use a transponder - a special device that allows you not only to save on travel costs, but also to do this without stopping at payment points. You can take the transponder in the offices that are in front of the entrance to the road, if you go from Moscow, and when leaving, heading towards Moscow, as well as in the Zelenopark shopping center. The closest office to Moscow is located directly in front of the entrance barriers.

A transponder is a small self-contained gadget that is mounted inside the car on the windshield behind the rearview mirror. The built-in battery should be enough for more than 5 years of operation, and if it runs out or the transponder breaks, the operator will change it for free.

To receive a transponder, you need a passport and about 5-10 minutes of time to complete the contract. Also, the transponder can be pre-ordered on the site and get it at any exit from the road in information offices, this is even faster.

The transponder of the paid section Moscow-Solnechnogorsk (or another 15-58) on the M11 highway is not for sale, but is leased. In the first calendar month, the rental price is 0 rubles, and in the following months the rent is 50 rubles per month, but only when it is used (that is, if you didn’t use the toll road for a month, the rent will not be deducted). It’s convenient, you don’t have to pay 1500 rubles for it right away, but you pay only if you use it. Even if you go to the sea once a year, or to the cottage only in season, and in winter you can remove it and do not have to pay.

Given the fact that the fare on the transponder is cheaper (saving up to 60%) than if paid on the spot, its rental pays off from the first trip. Take the transponder and get a 20% discount on all trips. But there are also subscriptions (as in the subway). They apply to almost all routes and are available for 10, 20 or 30 trips. They must be consumed within a month. 10 trips are suitable for summer residents, if you activate it on the day of travel to the country, then you get 5 round-trip trips within 30 days. And 20 and 30 trips are suitable for those who work or live nearby.

To understand the savings - here is an example:

A trip on a toll road from Moscow to Sheremetyevo Airport D, E and F costs 300 rubles during the day and 100 rubles at night if paid in cash or by credit card. And with a transponder, the cost of the same trip will be 240 rubles during the day and 80 rubles at night. A trip on a subscription on the same route costs from 160 to 220 rubles.

You immediately pay for the transponder and save time on the passage of payment points. To do this, use a special gate with an automatic barrier. A stop is not required, it is only enough to reduce the speed to 30 km / h (so that the barrier can guarantee to open after the electronics read the transponder data).

“Transponder received” and a green traffic light means that you can continue to move without stopping.

An alternative to a transponder is to pay for travel through an operator or terminal. It is not only slower, but also more expensive.

Special sensors automatically detect the class of the vehicle (in particular, its height and number of axles) to accurately calculate the fare.

The middle of the day on weekdays is not the most significant moment in terms of the number of cars on the highway, but even here you can see that when paying in cash, queues of 5-6 cars are collected. While in the leftmost lanes you can drive with the transponder without stopping.

Taxi cars are actively using the toll road, it is much faster than standing in a traffic jam on Leningradka. In this case, customers usually pay for the road in order to save their time.

The payment points are located at the exits from the highway (and if you do not have a transponder, then you need to take a ticket at the entrance), so there is no need to stop at the intermediate sections, you just go to the destination, and at the exit the fare is calculated and debited from your account balance automatically.

By the way, with the M11 transponder, you can drive along other toll roads: such as the Northern Odintsovo bypass (MKAD - M1), paid sections M3, M4 and M11 (detours Torzhok and Vyshny Volochyok), as well as along the Western High-Speed Diameter (WHSD) to St. Petersburg. This is called interoperability. By the way, on most "foreign" paid sites, a discount on travel up to 15% is also provided.
This is a traffic control center on a toll road. Security is given increased attention.

In the event of an emergency, emergency commissioners leave for the place.

Also, the company serving the toll road has a large fleet of road equipment, which is used to clean the track.

By the way, the paid section M11 "Moscow-Solnechnogorsk" was built from scratch and most of (2/3) investments are private investments. The state has invested in the construction of only 1/3. And this route has a completely different usage model, unlike the well-known south road, in Sochi - the M4 highway. After all, the M4 is an initially free road, which was reconstructed and where barriers were installed. A similar story with the recently launched sections of the M3 highway - the free route has become paid, and as an alternative to the free passage, a narrow road is offered, winding through settlements with constant speed limits.

While the M11 toll area is an alternative to the M10 freeway, which in itself is a high-quality road with several lanes in each direction. The toll road takes on sufficient flow from the heavily loaded Leningradskoye highway, thus unloading it. On average, over 40 thousand cars a day travel on a toll highway, and on days of high traffic, traffic rises to 75 thousand cars.

It turns out that the transponder should be in every car, regardless of how often you drive on toll roads. In the same way as in the pocket of every resident of Moscow there should be a card or trinket "Troika".

The fare varies depending on the day of the week and time of day, thus achieving dynamic regulation of traffic flows depending on demand.