STALEXPORT AUTOSTRADA MAŁOPOLSKA SA PROMOTING QUICK PAYMENT METHODS WITH HIGHER DISCOUNTS

Stalexport Autostrada Małopolska S.A. is increasing discounts for users of the prepaid proximity card KartA4 and subscription coupons as the fastest payment methods. After the introduction of the 10 per cent discount the toll for cars will be equal to the 2012 rate.

Analyses of customer service duration at toll plazas carried out by the concessionaire after the introduction of the proximity card in January revealed that KartA4 and subscription coupons are unrivalled methods of payment for travelling on the A4 Katowice-Krakow motorway as regards swiftness of customer service. As part of the policy of increasing the capacity of toll plazas the company has decided to promote the use of these forms of payment with a higher discount than the currently provided 5 per cent.
From 15 March, there will be a 10 per cent discount for each vehicle category on the purchase or top-up of proximity cards and on the purchase of subscription coupons. The minimum number of units (passes) on the proximity card and the number of subscription coupons in a booklet will be 20.

The coupons will be sold again after 15 March (they have been replaced by KartA4 cards).

– Launching the KartA4 proximity card we assumed that it will greatly outperform the subscription coupon as regards the time of transactions. In practice it has turned out that the times are comparable. We have decided to offer both payment methods as much quicker than payment cards or cash. By promoting them we want to maximally shorten waiting time on toll plazas – says Rafał Czechowski, the spokesperson for SAM SA.

In order to make the fastest payment methods even more efficient, there will be one toll gate at each toll plaza dedicated to holders of subscriptions and KartA4, i.e. gate no. 5 or no. 14 - depending on the direction of travelling. Still, subscription coupons and KartA4 cards will also be accepted on other gates with the exception of the leftmost self-service gates where it is only possible to pay with bank, fuel and proximity cards.

KartA4 will remain the quickest method of payment for the motorway on the self-service gate where it is impossible to pay with subscription coupons. The proximity card is also better because of the dedicated service www.karta4.pl that makes it possible to conveniently top-up the card but also to follow up-to date information about the number of units, carried out transactions or completed passes.

Holders of kartA4 cards with full unit packages bought at prices valid before 15 March and holders of full and valid coupon booklets will be able to return them and buy unit packages or coupons with a 10% discount.

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About Stalexport Autostrada Małopolska S.A. (SAM S.A.)

Stalexport Autostrada Małopolska S.A. manages the 60-kilometre long stretch of the A4 motorway between Katowice and Krakow. It is the first fully functional road of this kind in Poland, built within the framework of public-private partnership as a brownfield investment – modernisation of the road built in the 1970s and 1980s. Stalexport Autostrada Małopolska S.A. has held the concession for its adaptation to the requirements of a toll motorway and operation since 1997. Meeting the concession obligations has required numerous investments. All investment projects, including current maintenance of the road, are financed from tolls for using the concession stretch and from loans obtained from an international bank consortium. Unlike other concessions for managing toll motorways, the project run by Stalexport Autostrada Małopolska S.A. does not burden the state budget in any way. The company does not receive the so-called availability payments from the State. The company does not benefit from any State Treasury subsidies or guarantees.

For further information please contact:
Rafał Czechowski
Spokesperson for SAM S.A.
e-mail: [email protected]
tel. 601063200