UPDATE – "Panapass" required to pay tolls (Panama City)

[COUNTRY EXPERT- JESSICA RAMESCH]

Hi everyone, hope you’re having a great December so far. Panama City is phasing out the use of pre-paid cards for two major toll roads, the Corredor Norte and Corredor Sur (North and South Highways, respectively). If you use these roads you have until March 1 (unless they postpone the date) to get a Panapass, the new windshield sticker that allows cars to zip by toll booths at 40kph instead of 5kph, thus helping maintain traffic flows/avoid bottleneck effects. You do not have to use these roads, as anywhere you want to go is accessible via non-toll routes.

I use the Corredor Sur infrequently…mostly just to get to Tocumen International Airport. The lines to get the Panapass are very long this month, so I’m going to try my luck in the first days of January.

Here are the steps you’ll need to follow to get a pass for your car, if you want or need it:

1- go to booths at Atlapa Convention Center or the Albrook Commercial and Transit Hub. You must have your car with you and you must have originals and one photocopy each of your Panama ID and your license and registration. Operating hours de 7:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m. Mon-Sat. Be smart, avoid peak traffic hours (7-8am, noon/lunchtime, 5-6pm).
2- you’ll be asked to fill out a short form
3- a sticker will be placed on your vehicle
4- drive through the test barrier
5- pre-pay $10 or more (goes toward your tolls, the Panapass itself is free at time of writing)

Add funds $10 at a time at any toll booth (in the future there will be more options, they say, including online banking if you have a local account). Apparently traffic lights at toll booths will flash green, yellow if your funds are low (no clue yet how much money exactly you must have to get a low reading), red if you have gone over (you will be fined $10). Apparently you can check your funds online at the ENA website Enacorredores.com (the menu option is “consulta de saldo” and does not seem to be working quite yet) and/or via an app you will be able to download to your phone.

I tweeted the organization in charge (ENA) to ask about rental cars, and was told that rental companies are getting the stickers for their fleets. So if you rent a car, you shouldn’t have to worry. The sticker will be on the windshield and you should be able to zip by toll booths at will. Presumably the rental co. will charge you for tolls registered when you return the vehicle.

Looks like they’re still figuring some stuff out so the word of the day is patience, friends!

Have a great day.

Jessica
Your Panama Editor

PS If you have questions, comments or experiences to share please post them here! For unrelated topics please search existing threads and add to a relevant one or start a new thread. Thanks!

[ROBERT MASTERSON]

Jessica, My wife and I will be arriving on Feb 21 from 20 days and renting a car most of that time to drive around Panama. Will the above pass affect me in my rental car? Long lines to go thru tolls? any way to avoid?

Also, we plan to just rent a sedan, not a 4×4 vehicle – is that ok to go most places?

Thanks much,
Bob

[COUNTRY EXPERT- JESSICA RAMESCH]

Hello Bob,

Thanks for posting. I tweeted the organization in charge (ENA) to ask about rental cars, and was told that rental companies are getting the stickers for their fleets. So if you rent a car, you shouldn’t have to worry. The sticker will be on the windshield and you should be able to zip by toll booths at will. Presumably the rental co. will charge you for tolls registered when you return the vehicle. Please verify all this when renting.

The Panapass/tolls are only for the South and North Corridor roads in the capital city. Most visitors only use the South Corridor (and that only twice, to come and go from Tocumen International Airport). You won’t need or use the Panapass outside of Panama City.

And yes, I always rent sedans for my scouting jobs for International Living and have never had any trouble.

Hope this helps; don’t hesitate to post any follow-up questions.

Regards,

IL Panama Editor Jessica Ramesch

[ROBERT MASTERSON]

Jessica, Thanks for the feedback. I will check with my rental car company to make sure they have that sticker..

Bob

[COUNTRY EXPERT- JESSICA RAMESCH]

Great, if you get a chance let us know how it all went. Enjoy!

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