Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said on Friday that the government would replace the country’s highway toll plazas within the next six months with new technology, such as GPS-based toll collection systems.
Gadkari says that the goal of the action is to reduce traffic congestion and charge drivers based on how far they have driven on the motorways.
Speaking at a CII-sponsored event, Gadkari added that the state-owned NHAI’s toll revenue, which is currently at Rs 40,000 crore, will increase to Rs 1.40 lakh crore within two to three years.
“To replace the nation’s toll booths, the government is looking at innovative technologies, such as GPS-based toll systems… We will introduce new technology in six months, he promised.
The Ministry of Road Transport and Roads is running a pilot project for automatic number plate recognition systems (automatic number plate reader cameras) so that cars can pay their tolls without having to stop.
The typical wait time for cars at toll plazas during 2018–19 was 8 minutes. The average vehicle waiting time has decreased to 47 seconds as a result of the implementation of FASTags in 2020–2021 and 2021–2022.
Even though wait times have gone down a lot in some places, especially those close to cities, there are still long lines at toll plazas in heavily populated towns during rush hours.
The minister of highways and road transportation said that construction costs need to go down without quality going down.
