Centre Pilots Satellite-Based Tolling System On Bengaluru-Mysuru Highway

The Union government has decided to conduct a pilot for satellite-based toll collection on Bengaluru-Mysore section of NH-275 in Karnataka.

The Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) based barrier less free flow tolling involves retrieving the positioning of the vehicle on the National Highway and calculate the user fee based upon the distance travelled.

The technology, which has been under the government's consideration for over three years, will replace FASTags, which are prepaid and rechargeable tags utilising radio frequency identification (RFID).

Replying to a question in Lok Sabha, Union Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari informed that the ministry will initially implement GNSS based electronic toll collection (ETC) system at selected sections of National Highways on pilot basis as an added facility along with FASTag.

The ministry has also appointed a consultant to provide advisory services for the adoption of new technologies, including the satellite-based tolling.

It may be recalled that from 16 February 2021, the government mandated the use of FASTag for both private and commercial vehicles. According to the regulations, vehicles lacking a valid or operational FASTag are subject to paying double the toll charge as a penalty.

The implementation of FASTag has drastically decreased the average waiting time at toll plazas to a mere 47 seconds, marking a substantial 93 per cent improvement from the previous average of 714 seconds, as reported by India to the World Bank last week.

While there has been significant progress in reducing waiting times at specific locations, particularly those near cities, densely populated towns still experience some delays at toll plazas during peak hours. The initiative to implement GPS-based tolling is a part of the endeavour to further minimise waiting times at toll plazas.