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The toll collection system is set to witness a major shift in the country. The FASTag payment system would be replaced with a fully automated GPS-based mechanism.
The new model is aimed at modernizing India’s road infrastructure and reduce inefficiencies in the toll collection process.
Union Road Transport and Highways minister Nitin Gadkari announced that a new toll policy would be introduced in the next 15 days. The new system is likely to be enforced from May.
Once the GPS-based mechanism is introduced the physical booths collecting tax will be removed as the toll charges will be deducted automatically from the vehicle owners’ bank accounts, using satellite-based tracking and number plate recognition technology.
The aim of the GPS-based tax collection is to eliminate toll booths altogether, minimize the infrastructure and cut down the maintenance cost. In addition, it would also prevent delays due to long queues at the toll booths.
“Once the new policy comes into force, nobody will get a chance to complain about the toll,” Gadkari said.
The new system will use GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) to monitor the distance travelled by a vehicle on the toll roads. Special cameras fitted on the roads would scan the vehicles Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) and toll charges would be levied accordingly.
The overhaul marks a formal end to the FASTag system, that was launched in 2016.
The new GPS-based toll system is designed to streamline toll collection, improve transparency, and reduce fraud or mismanagement as the rapid growth of India’s road network led to a rise in the number of toll plazas and raised infrastructure costs. The toll booths also led to congestion on the roads.
The real-time tracking and automatic deduction is set to usher in more transparency, as they will be charged for only the distance travelled on the toll roads.
On the Mumbai-Goa highway project, Gadkari said the road which has faced numerous delays will be fully completed by June this year.
