NHAI takes steps to reduce waiting time at toll plazas

To ensure smooth and quick passage of vehicles at toll plazas, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has issued guidelines requiring a service time of no more than ten seconds per vehicle even during peak hours at National Highways toll plazas. The new rules will also prevent vehicles from queuing for more than 100 metres (m) at toll plazas, ensuring a smooth flow of traffic. Although there is no waiting time after the mandatory 100% FASTag most toll plazas, if there is a queue waiting for vehicles of more than 100 m for some reason, the vehicles will be allowed to pass without paying toll until the queue comes within 100 m of the toll booth. In each toll lane, a yellow line 100 m from the toll booth will be marked for this purpose. Since NHAI successfully transitioned to 100% cashless tolling in the middle of February 2021, overall FASTag penetration at NHAI Toll Plazas has reached 96%, with many toll plazas reaching 99%. With the increasing use of Electronic Toll Collection (ETC) in the country, it has been emphasised that the upcoming toll plazas be designed and built-in in accordance with traffic projections for the next ten years in order to have an efficient toll collection system. As social distance has become the new normal, an increasing number of commuters are opting to use FASTag, which eliminates the possibility of direct contact between drivers and toll operators. The continuous growth and adoption of FASTag by highway users is encouraging and has contributed to greater efficiency in toll operations. Image SourceAlso read: GST authorities will get real-time data of commercial vehicles Also read: Highway toll collection dips up to 30% over past week