Cashless payment option at toll plazas on National Highways

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) had rolled out a cashless payment mechanism, known as FASTag, at toll plazas on National Highways.

A dedicated FASTag lane was to be ensured at 48 toll plazas on Mumbai-Delhi and Mumbai-Chennai Corridors from June 20. To facilitate purchase of FASTag by road users, Points of Sale (POS) on 23 toll plazas are available on these corridors.  Various events/ activities like awareness drive on benefits of FASTag, such as identification of bulk customers through transport/truckers associations will be organised on these two corridors. This will promote efficient and economical movement of passenger and commercial traffic on these high traffic density corridors.

Further, NHAI also decided to provide FASTag to existing monthly pass holders by absorbing the one-time cost of their FASTags.

The FAStag option allows a near non-stop movement of vehicles through fee plazas and convenience of cashless payments of toll fee with nationwide inter-operable Electronic Fee Collection Services.

As per a joint study report 2011-12 carried out by the logistic firm Transport Corporation of India and IIM-Kolkata, the estimated annual cost of delay on highways to the Indian economy was Rs 27,000 crore per annum. Another estimate indicated that the impact of additional fuel consumption due to delay and slow speed of vehicles was Rs 60,000 crore per annum. The committee had recommended that the solution to the problem of toll delays is to gradually move towards Electronic Toll Collection (ETC) System. 

FASTag is operational on over 335 Fee Plazas on National Highways across the country. Use of the cashless payment mode is bound to increase user convenience and seamless travel at toll booths thus saving on time, money and fuel. 

This information was provided by the minister of state for Road Transport & Highways, Pon Radhakrishnan in a written reply to a question yesterday.