India will get GPS-base toll collection systems in place of the existing highway toll plazas in the country as early as April 2024. Union minister Nitin Gadkari announce that the government has engage a consultant for the implementation of a GPS-based toll collection system on national highways.
Nitin Gadkari Said :
“The government is looking at new technologies including GPS-based toll systems to replace toll plazas in the country…We will bring new technology in six months,”.
What is GPS-Based Toll Collection System?
As of now, the majority of Indian highways use FASTag for toll payment.
At toll plazas, RFID-enable barriers scan the FASTag IDs affix to vehicles and levy fees based on the distance between two toll plazas.
FASTags had made mandatory in 2021 for all vehicles to pay tolls on highways.
Vehicles lacking FASTags must pay double the toll fee as a penalty.
The new GPS-based toll collection system will have an automatic number plate recognition system which will use cameras install along the highways to detect the number plate when the car is in motion.
A toll collection system based on GPS matches the GPS coordinates of a vehicle in motion.
Accounts will be link to the number plates, and toll fees will be deduct based on the distance cover by the vehicle.
Need of GPS-Based Toll Collection System
The GPS-based toll collection system has been introduce in order to reduce the queues at toll plazas, since the FASTag system requires vehicles to wait toll plazas for scanning.
This is despite the fact that FASTags had itself reduce average waiting time at toll plazas to 47 seconds, from eight minutes in 2018-19.
With GPS-based toll collection system, cars do not need to halt at all since cameras will scan number plates when car is in motion.
And, cars would be charge for the exact distance travel on the highways.
Also motorists on the road are free from worries about managing cash, waiting for change, or monitoring their FASTag account balance.
The toll fee is seamlessly deduct from link account via a secure payment system.
GPS-Based Toll Collection System not only eliminates the chances of human errors but also eradicates the possibility of toll evasion.
