MOBILE APPLICATION INSTEAD OF CASH ON THE KATOWICE-KRAKÓW SECTION OF THE A4 MOTORWAY

From today onwards, the gates at toll collection plazas can open automatically for users of the A4 motorway between Katowice and Kraków without the need to install any additional devices in their vehicles. Stalexport Autostrada Małopolska S.A., the concessionaire, has just launched a system allowing travellers to pay for passage using the Autopay mobile application, which is already used on the AmberOne A1 motorway.

Autopay allows you to register a vehicle in the database and to link a licence plate with a credit or debit card. The devices installed at the gates recognise the licence plate and open them automatically. Drivers are not involved in the process of paying tolls, which makes their passage much faster. This is the first method of toll collection for motorways that does not require any additional devices to be installed or tolls to be paid in advance.

By introducing this solution, SAM SA meets the needs of both regular motorway users and less frequent users of the Katowice-Kraków section of the A4 motorway, who use the motorway to reach their holiday destination or to spend a long weekend away from home. When Autopay becomes widespread, the time needed to travel the Katowice-Kraków section may be significantly reduced, especially in rush hours.

"Launching video tolling is another step in our plan to increase the capacity of toll plazas, which is also crucial when the ease of use and, at the same time, traffic flow and travel comfort are considered. Allowing drivers to pay for passages using a mobile application has a considerable impact on
removing the barrier to using electronic payments. Autopay is already used on the A1 motorway so one could say that we have unclogged the most important corridors used for holiday travels by car," says Rafał Czechowski, Spokesperson of Stalexport Autostrada Małopolska. 

Video tolling is a payment method based on the identification of a vehicle's licence plate and intended for passenger and heavy  vehicles (categories 1-5, excluding motorcycles). To use it, install a free Autopay app from Google Play or App Store on your phone. To create an Autopay account, you must provide your vehicle's licence plate and your active credit/debit card details. When you arrive at the Mysłowice or Balice toll collection plaza, choose the gate marked with a black camera against a yellow background. For Autopay users there are three gates in each direction: the first two on the left and one on the right. The first gate on the left is only for automatic payments: Autopay and A4Go. If you make a mistake and go to the gate without the mark, it is still possible to pay the toll using Autopay if the gate collector is informed of it. The collector will start the system but the entire transaction will take much more time.

When entering the toll collection plaza, you do not have to be logged in to Autopay or even have your phone on you: the system automatically recognises the licence plate, identifies the vehicle, and opens the gate. Half of the toll is collected at the entrance gate and the other half at the exit gate.

Autopay offers a number of user-friendly features: the app allows you to create an individual or corporate account, add several vehicles and link them with one credit/debit card or more, view transaction history, and receive a summary invoice for passages.

Apart from all EU licence plates, video tolling used on the Katowice-Kraków section recognises Ukrainian licence plates. 

"The slogan of our new service is 'Fast but not furious', the inspiration of which is rather obvious. In fact, we are three times faster because the estimated capacity of Autopay gates on lines with automatic payments is three times faster compared to the capacity in the traditional system. While payments by cash or card take a dozen or so seconds, payments through video tolling are instant. It is motorway users themselves who are responsible for a good mood during journeys. The more passages paid for automatically, the shorter the time spent at toll collection plazas," sums up Rafał Czechowski.

Blue Media is the partner of video tolling implementation on the Katowice-Kraków section of the A4 motorway and the author of Autopay. By 2025, the company aims to achieve a 100 million kg reduction of carbon dioxide emissions by limiting actual traffic congestion before toll collection plazas.
Bank Millennium has recently implemented Autopay as an integral part of their mobile application.

For more information about video tolling on the Katowice-Kraków section of the A4 motoway, visit www.autopay.pl/a4

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Information about SAM SA

Stalexport Autostrada Małopolska S.A. manages the 60-km section of the A4 Katowice-Kraków motorway. This is the first fully operational road of this type in Poland, built as part of the public-private partnership, as a brownfield project  on the basis of the road constructed in the 1970s  and 1980s. Stalexport Autostrada Małopolska S.A. obtained a license for its adaptation to the requirements of the toll motorway and operation in 1997. It required numerous investments. All investment projects and current maintenance of road lanes are funded from revenues obtained from the collection of tolls for the concession section and loans received from the international banking consortium. Unlike other concessions for the management of toll motorways, the project implemented by Stalexport Autostrada S. A. does not burden the State Treasury with any obligations. Moreover, it has not received any grants or guarantees of the Treasury.

Additional information can be obtained from:

Rafał Czechowski
Spokesman of SAM S. A.
e-mail: SEND A MESSAGE
tel. 601 063 200