The prices of the motorway network have seen a further increase in 2023… One motorway in particular has seen its prices jump.
In 2023, the French motorway network will have more than 12,000 kilometers. Although it is difficult to avoid traffic jams when they are crowded in July and August, these highways can considerably reduce distances and travel times, sometimes by several hours. Between Paris and Marseille, taking the A6 and A7 motorways makes it possible to complete the 777 kilometers in 6:45 (calculation carried out with fluid and non-stop traffic) against 10:15 for a longer route by national and departmental roads (910 kilometers).
Of course, the expense is not the same. The second route saves 66 euros in toll costs, for only a few extra euros spent on fuel (between 5 and 10). The observation is cruel: driving on the highway is more and more expensive. In 2023, toll prices in France increased by an average of 4.75% compared to the previous year according to figures from the eco-autoroute.fr website.
Inflation, road repairs and improvements, modernization… The reasons put forward by motorway companies to explain this significant increase are numerous. All motorways are obviously not in the same boat, even if only one section, that of the A86 tunnel between Rueil-Malmaison and Vélizy, has experienced a drop over one year (-6%), which does not does not prevent it from remaining the most expensive in France (10.90 euros for 10 kilometers!).
But in terms of increase, a motorway takes the lion’s share in 2023. The A65, commissioned in 2010, has seen its prices soar. On this axis which connects Langon, in Gironde, to Pau, in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques, on a popular route in summer and winter to reach the Pyrenees, the increase over one year reached 10.4%! It now costs 1.54 euros on average to travel 10 kilometers on the A65, compared to 1.39 euros last year, according to a study conducted by France Info.
Among the 100 motorway sections which saw the highest price increase on February 1 – the date on which motorway companies publish their prices each year – 14 of the top 15 are on the A65! On this highway, which was already one of the most expensive in France, for example, it is now necessary to pay 15.50 euros to travel 100 kilometers between the towns of Theze (Pyrénées-Atlantiques) and Captieux (Gironde).
So if you’re planning on heading to the Atlantic coast this summer, somewhere between Arcachon and Biarritz, we can strongly advise you to avoid this highway as much as possible. To get from Langon to Pau – 173 kilometers away – it will take you a good hour and a half via the A65. Your journey will be extended by approximately 45 minutes if you prefer national and departmental roads, in particular the D932 and D934. But you will save no less than 27 euros!