El Dorado to Chía: the two roads north, the toll you pay on each, and the pico y placa rule that decides your day

El Dorado is on the west side of Bogotá. Chía is north of it, past the city limits. So this is not an airport hop; it is a crossing of Bogotá followed by a toll road, and the two things that decide how long it takes are which road north you take and what day of the month it is. This page gives you the complete Accenorte toll table as published on 1 July 2026, the difference between the Andes and Fusca plazas, and the pico y placa rules for September 2026 as the city publishes them — including the part almost nobody explains, which is that private cars and registered transfer vehicles run on two different calendars.

Written by the team that runs this route. Every figure below is attributed. Where the only available source is press, not an authority, we say so on the line. Pico y placa figures are for September 2026 and the city republishes them monthly.

Why this is a city crossing, not an airport hop

Look at where the two ends are.

El Dorado is on the western edge of Bogotá, at the end of the Calle 26 corridor. Chía is a municipality of Cundinamarca, immediately north of the capital, beyond the city boundary.

So the journey is: out of the airport, across or around the northern half of Bogotá, then north on a toll road into Cundinamarca. The highway part is short and straightforward. The city part is not, and it is where the whole variance in this transfer lives.

That is why we treat this as a Bogotá journey with a Chía ending and not a short airport run, and why the question we ask when you book is what day and what time, not how many kilometres.

The two roads north

There are two ways out of Bogotá towards Chía, and they are tolled separately by the same concession, AcceNorte S.A.S., which operates the Concesión Vial de Accesos Norte de Bogotá.

The Autopista Norte. The main artery north. Its toll is Peaje Andes, at PR 2+600 of Ruta 45A04. It is the big one: the concession publishes it as having 16 lanes, four of them dedicated to electronic collection. That lane count tells you what kind of traffic this road carries.

The Carrera Séptima, the Carretera Central del Norte. Its toll is Peaje Fusca, at PR 4+000 of Ruta 5501, with 2 lanes and electronic payment available.

For a car the price is identical either way, so the choice is about traffic, not cost. The Séptima is narrower and slower but sometimes moves when the Autopista does not; the Autopista is the default. A driver who knows the city picks on the day, which is one of the few genuine arguments for a local driver over a map.

The complete toll table

AcceNorte publishes its current structure as the estructura tarifaria effective 1 July 2026, under Ministry of Transport Resolución 20253040016965 of 7 May 2025. Here it is in full, for all four plazas the concession operates.

A car going to Chía pays $16.100, whichever of the two roads it takes. That is the number a transfer quote should be built on.

Note also that this corridor moved twice in 2026: once with the national update in January, and again on 1 July under the contractual increase above. A figure you saw quoted earlier in the year is out of date, and that is unusual enough to be worth saying.

Three things in that table worth a second look

One: Category II costs more than Category III. A Category II vehicle pays $27.800 and a Category III pays $18.700. That is not a transcription error on our part; it is what the concession publishes. If you are travelling in a van or minibus instead of a car, that inversion is worth knowing before you see the bill.

Two: Unisabana does not charge cars at all. The concession lists Peaje Unisabana at PR 5+850 of Ruta 45A04 with 2 lanes serving only categories V, VI and VII. It is a heavy-vehicle plaza. A car never pays it, which is why toll estimates that include it for a private transfer are wrong.

Three: the $9.400 rate has a name on it. The IE category at Andes and Fusca is a differential rate established by Resolución 20243040027265 of 18 June 2024, and the concession states who it is for: residents of Chía in estratos 1 to 3. The related categories cover public utility and transport companies (IIE2) and residents of the Fusca and Torca rural areas (IE2, at $600).

We spell that out because it explains why quoted toll figures for this road vary so widely depending on who wrote them. Eligibility is documented in advance with the concession and the ANI. It is not something a visitor can ask for at the booth, and a transfer price should not be built on it.

Pico y placa, and the two calendars

This is the part that decides your day, and it is the part most airport-transfer pages skip entirely.

Bogotá restricts vehicle circulation by number plate. For private vehicles in September 2026 the city publishes it in plain words: el pico y placa para vehículos particulares funciona en Bogotá de 6:00 a. m. a 9:00 p. m., de lunes a viernes. The rule is odd and even:

• On odd-numbered calendar days, plates ending in 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 may circulate.
• On even-numbered calendar days, plates ending in 6, 7, 8, 9 and 0 may circulate.
• On Saturdays and Sundays, no aplica la medida de pico y placa.

Here is the part that matters for a transfer. Registered special-service transport runs on a different calendar. The city publishes a separate monthly rotation for transporte especial — which it defines as automóviles, camionetas o camperos de cuatro pasajeros (sin incluir conductor) — and that rotation permits a wider set of plate endings on any given weekday than the private-car rule does. The city also states that los domingos y festivos no aplica la restricción de circulación para este tipo de vehículos.

We are being careful with the wording, because the version is not “we are exempt”. It is that a properly registered transfer vehicle is subject to a different and less restrictive published rotation, and that rotation changes day by day and is republished every month. We check the day you are travelling against the current calendar instead of assuming.

How long it takes

No Colombian authority publishes a door-to-door journey time from El Dorado to Chía, and on a route whose length is set by Bogotá traffic we will not invent one.

What we can tell you is what the inputs are, in order of how much they matter: the hour of day, the day of the week, whether the Autopista Norte or the Séptima is moving better, and only then the distance. The toll plaza sits at PR 2+600 or PR 4+000 depending on the road — which is to say, very close to the city edge. Almost everything before it is Bogotá.

We quote this route with a pickup time built around your flight and the day's conditions and not a fixed duration. On a Friday evening arrival we will suggest a later pickup and a different expectation than on a Sunday morning, and we would rather say that than quote a number that only holds at midnight.

Common questions

How many tolls are there from El Dorado to Chía?

One. Which one depends on the road: the Autopista Norte goes through Peaje Andes at PR 2+600 of Ruta 45A04, and the Carrera Séptima goes through Peaje Fusca at PR 4+000 of Ruta 5501. Both are operated by AcceNorte S.A.S.

What does the toll cost for a car?

$16.100 at either Andes or Fusca, under the structure effective 1 July 2026. Peaje Unisabana does not charge cars at all; it serves only categories V, VI and VII.

Why do I see different toll figures quoted for this road?

Two reasons. The corridor changed rates twice in 2026, once nationally in January and again on 1 July under a contractual increase, so older figures are stale. And there are published differential rates as low as $9.400 with defined eligibility, which get quoted as though they were general.

Who pays the $9.400 rate?

The IE category at Andes and Fusca, established by Resolución 20243040027265 of 18 June 2024, is for residents of Chía in estratos 1 to 3. Eligibility is documented in advance with the concession and the ANI; it is not available on request at the booth.

Does pico y placa affect my airport transfer?

It affects the planning. Private vehicles are restricted from 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Monday to Friday on an odd and even plate rule. Registered special-service transport follows a separate rotation that the city publishes monthly and that permits a wider set of plate endings. We check the day you travel against the current calendar instead of assuming.

Is there pico y placa at the weekend?

Not for private vehicles: the city states that on Saturdays and Sundays no aplica la medida de pico y placa. For special-service transport the city states that Sundays and public holidays are free of the restriction.

Which road north is better?

For a car they cost the same, so it is purely a traffic decision. The Autopista Norte is the default and the Carrera Séptima is the alternative that sometimes moves when the Autopista does not. That is a judgement made on the day.

How long does it take?

No authority publishes a figure and we will not invent one. The variable is Bogotá, not the highway: the toll sits very close to the city edge, so almost the whole journey is city driving. We quote a pickup time built around your flight and the day, not a duration.

Can you collect us from the airport at any hour?

Yes, and the hour changes the plan and not the price. Tell us the flight number when you book so we track the arrival and set the pickup against the actual landing time instead of the scheduled one.