GURUGRAM: New technology could be introduced at Kherki Daula
toll plaza to collect toll. Toll plaza concessionaire Millennium City Expressways Private Limited (MCEPL) wants every car to have
radio frequency identification (RFID)
tags to reduce time at the plaza. Even NHAI is in the lookout for new technology to regulate toll collection.
RFID tags were introduced at
Kherki Daula in 2014. As a tag-fitted vehicle approaches within 4m of the plaza, the boom barrier opens automatically, ensuring faster movement of traffic. S Raghuraman, CEO, MCEPL said, “We’d ourselves suggested the bank directors why not introduce RFID tags in all cars. This will invariably reduce wait time for vehicles at the toll plaza.”
Meanwhile, NHAI is considering it will experiment with several toll techniques that are used elsewhere, including a GPS-based system, wherein a commuter pays toll based on distance travelled on the toll road, and FASTag, an electronic system that deducts toll fees automatically from a user’s bank account. Manoj Kumar, chief general manager (technical), NHAI (headquarters), said, “We do examine our establishment. However, nothing is final, so I can’t comment on it.”
NHAI officials, on condition of anonymity, said, “Making Kherki Daula toll free with RFID tags may not be feasible. Technology could have a negative effect in India.” In India, most vehicles purchased are second-hand, i.e. old, and don’t come with bundled RFID tags. “To implement a hi-tech system now would mean we’ll have to provide RFID tags to all vehicles. Let MCEPL do it on a trial basis for some time. They will know if this system works or not,” added the NHAI official.
Officials of Skylark, the company which operates the toll plaza, said RFID or FASTags haven’t been a hit so far. Navneet Singh, CEO, Skylark said, “Only 35% of toll-able traffic at Kherki Daula, approximately 7,000 vehicles per day, pays through FASTag or RFID tags. It’s observed that the toll management system is working on a 70% efficiency level, with the toll collected from the remaining vehicles having to be fed manually into the system, thus increasing transaction time and defeating the purpose of using such tags.”
Representative image
