On Thursday, Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari said that India will do away with toll booths. Also, within one year, the implementation of GPS-based toll collection will be completed, he said. The Union Minister further said 93 per cent of the vehicles pay toll using FASTag. However, but the remaining 7 per cent of vehicles have still not taken FASTag despite paying a double toll, he mentioned. During Question Hour in the Lok Sabha, Gadkari said that he wants to assure the House that all physical toll booths in the country will be removed within one year. Thus, it means that the collection of toll will happen via GPS. The toll at highways will be collected based on GPS imaging (on vehicles), he stated.
The Union Minister said that for those vehicles which do not pay toll using FASTags, he has instructed police inquiry. There are cases of toll theft as well as cases of GST evasion if FASTags are not fitted in vehicles, he noted. FASTags was introduced in the year 2016, which enable electronic payment of fee at toll plazas, according to a PTI report. From February 16, vehicles that are without tags are required to pay double the toll fee amount at electronic toll plazas. Making the FASTags mandatory on vehicles would also help in ensuring that vehicles pass seamlessly through the toll plazas at highways, as the payment of the fee would be electronically done. New vehicles have FASTags fitted in them already, while the Modi government has said it will provide free FASTags for old vehicles, Gadkari added.
FASTag is a tag/sticker pasted on the car’s windscreen usually. To communicate with the scanner that is installed at toll plaza, it utilizes RFID technology. When the vehicle passes the toll plaza, the requisite toll fee is automatically deducted from a bank account or a prepaid wallet linked to the FASTag.