TOPIC:

Quick question - does anyone use a motorway tag in France?  I'm looking at a few - Emovis, Ulys and Télépéage Bip & Go. At the moment, I am swaying towards the Bip & Go but I am just wondering if anyone on here has any experience of them and what your views are.
Very convenient if doing a long stint on the motorway and your co-pilot is asleep.  I find it best to let them sleep as opposed to waking them so that for 10 seconds they can feed the machine...!!!!  Would be much easier if we had the steering on the correct side of the cars...!
 

Thats a good question and I like the idea of not disturbing Mrs G (co-pilot) at the booths if she's having a snooze (which is rare!).  I have often wondered how the tags work in France and what options were available - but in fairness I tend to avoid the toll roads as they can be congested and i prefer the real roads of France to see more of the wonderful meandering towns, villages and countryside!  Safe travels whatever route you choose - and avoid Bastille Day! 

Ok – I’ve bit the bullet and purchased the Bip & Go. It was all very seamless, delivered within 14 days and I purchased it via their website. The tag comes with one screen holder/clip but there is an option to purchase additional clips if you plan on moving it from one car to another, e.g. Motorhome to car.
Total cost is €10 for the activation fee and €10 for overseas shipping to Ireland. Those fees are only applicable in the first year. The ongoing costs are €1.70 for every month you use the tag in France and zero costs for the months that you don’t use it. As I travel over 2 calendar months, my ongoing yearly fee will be €3.40 plus tolls. There are other options for Spain, Portugal, and Italy but I wasn’t interested in them at this time. Another nice feature is that I can use the tag in certain carparks across France so that will eliminate the scrambling for change.
The only caveat is that if you don’t use your tag for a 12 month consecutive period, there is a non-usage charge of €10.
I’ll update this post as to how it performed when I return from France but unfortunately that won’t be until the end of the summer.

I'm back and to be honest - I wouldn't travel again without the tag. It beats the queues as they are held up by people scrambling for change...
I've also seen quite a few toll roads this year that were not manned - all the booths were automated. Reading reports afterwards - queues formed as the automatic machines didn't recognise some British bank cards.!
My journey on the other hand was very smooth and uninterrupted - slow down as per the instructions and wait for the bleep, and resume normal driving. My co-pilot duly arrived at the campsites after the various journeys fully refreshed (to help with the awning and set-up). ... Perfect.