There is going to be a big change in the system of toll collection on the country’s highways! There is a preparation to replace FASTag with a new system. Union Minister Nitin Gadkari has made a big announcement regarding FASTag and toll system, which can completely change the way toll is collected on highways in the country.
Nitin Gadkari said during a program on Monday that the central government is bringing a new toll policy within the next 15 days and when this policy is implemented, no one will need to complain about the toll. At present, he has not given much information about this, but this change will bring a big relief to those traveling on the highway.
As much travel, so much toll
In the GPS-based toll system, a device called an On-Board Unit (OBU) will be installed in the vehicles, which will replace the FASTag system running till now. This device will track the movement of the vehicle through GNSS i.e. Global Navigation Satellite System technology.
When a vehicle runs on the highway, the distance covered by it will be recorded through OBU. Accordingly, the toll amount will be decided and it will be deducted directly from the driver’s bank account or digital wallet.
That is, the more distance you travel on the highway, the more toll will be automatically deducted from your account. The special thing is that people will not need to stop at the toll plaza, which will save both time and fuel. Initially, this system will apply to large vehicles like trucks and buses, then gradually it will be implemented on all private vehicles and trains. This system will run on India’s satellite NavIC, due to which the data will remain within the country and will be safe.
The journey from FASTag to GPS
FASTag (Electronic Toll Collection) was introduced in India in the year 2016 so that you can cross the toll plaza without stopping. The purpose of FASTag was to save people’s time. It uses RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) technology. A tag is placed on the windshield of the vehicle and the scanner installed at the toll plaza scans that tag.
This automatically deducts the toll and the car crosses the toll without stopping. But, in the last few years, people have been facing some problems, such as heavy crowds, technical glitches, and some people also misuse the tag. Looking at all these problems, the government is focusing on modern systems. The GPS-based toll system is an important step towards solving all these problems and making toll collection even easier and transparent.