Over 90% of the 476 lanes at the 40-odd toll plazas on National Highways in the State are electronic toll collection (ETC)-enabled. By November, the remaining lanes will be covered, officials said.
“We have to cover only some 60 lanes, where work is under way to install electronic readers that will automatically deduct the amount from vehicles using radio frequency,” said an official of the National Highways Authority of India that manages these roads.
To reduce congestion at toll plazas, the Centre announced that all lanes at toll plazas would be declared FASTag from December 1. One hybrid lane would be available at all plazas to allow very large vehicles, where other modes of payment too would be accepted. “Cards are available at many banks, including ICICI and HDFC. Plans are afoot to sell them at our highway nests,” the official added. Sources said as a part of Digital India drive NHAI proposed to market toll plaza FASTags through Oil Marketing Company Retail outlets. Select RO dealers in highways will act as merchants for FASTags. Initial phase dealers are being identified at select highways, the source explained.
A transport company owner in the city said the FASTag option was a convenient one.
“Initially it had many glitches like more money being swiped away. But now the issues have been set right. Like ATM or online transaction, this one has minimal issues,” he said.
Murugan, a truck driver, who takes plazas at Vikravandi, Ulundurpet and Kallakuruchi frequently, said that they faced issues when making payment using debit/credit cards at toll plazas. “Those who manage toll plazas say they have network connectivity issue. This happens mostly during the wee hours. They ask us to move out of the line, park the vehicle on the side and come back and pay by cash to prevent traffic jams,” he said, adding that FASTag card enabled vehicles to move quickly through toll lanes.