Essential things you need to know about toll charges

There are a few things in life which are certain, as the old adage goes. One of these is death - that is until someone finds a special pill to make us all immortal. The other is taxes - something many of us will dread just hearing. But there is a third pillar that makes up this holy trinity of ‘dread’ and that is toll charges. What is this you might be thinking? Well people who spend a lot of their time driving across the country will know all too well what they are.

Toll roads and bridges are essentially spots such as motorways, where you need to pay if you wish to go through the road. As a convenience store owner, you can take advantage of this, as Payzone offer a solution where people can make payments for some of the country's largest toll bridges - including the MerseyFlow and Dartford Crossing.

If you are thinking about using this service, it’s important to know and understand toll charges and how they work - so you can understand and appreciate how your customer can benefit from this. We are here to help you with that by providing you with key information about toll charges.

They all price differently

One important thing that you need to know is that tariffs will vary across each toll road. For instance, the busy M6 Toll bridge will charge a sizable £5.50, whilst the much less busy A57 Dunham bridge is only 40p to cross. Prices may also vary depending on the type of vehicle that you are driving. For instance, if you drive a much smaller motorbike, this will workout a few pounds cheaper than if you are using a car. Prices can also differ depending on the hours you travel in. If you are trying to get through a toll road at peak times, this will be more expensive than if you are travelling during less busy hours.

Whatever you decide to do, we would always suggest you do your research before travelling - so that you can get an idea of what you might be expected to pay. Check out gov.uk for a breakdown of all prices across all the toll roads in the UK for more detailed information.

Payment isn't always straightforward

Perhaps, you're thinking payment must be really easy to do for all these toll roads. Surely all you’re going to need is the right amount of cash and a friendly face will accept it and you’ll be on your merry way with no care in the world. Right? Well unfortunately it hasn’t always panned out this way. Let’s take a look at the infamous Dartford Crossing. Payment booths were removed in 2014 which meant that anyone who wishes to cross it would need to pay £2.50 online via an account. But what if you aren’t sure that you need to use it. Well this scenario has been costing drivers hundreds of pounds in fines and lead to confusing incidents such as this one reported in this is money.co.uk. Overall fines since toll booths were removed at the Dartford Crossing have exceeded £3.5 million. There has been similar frustrations with the Mersey Toll bridge - with many people issuing complaints due to unclear online payment signage on the bridge.

It’s frustrating that payment has been made more complicated, especially at roads as busy as Dartford Crossing and the Mersey Gateway. But it means that drivers now need to be even more vigilant about toll roads they intend to use and crucially, how they make payments. It gives you a great opportunity to make drivers who regularly use these roads aware that there are easier methods to pay for these charges.

What can I do next?

You can help drivers with this issue by becoming a fully fledged Payzone retailer. We provide a range of revenue-generating services that you can sell to your customers - which includes payment solutions for the Dartford Crossing and the Mersey Gateway toll. This could help provide you with an additional stream of income as well as new customers who may need to pay for these services. Plus, you could make commission on each transaction that your process through our Payzone tablet.

Interested in accepting a variety of revenue-generating bill payment services with Payzone? Take a look at all of our retailer services and enquire today.