FASTag Fee Exempted For Vehicles Queued Up At Toll Plaza: Explained In Detail

Chief among the reasons are the sensors used at the toll plaza, which sometimes malfunction creating a huge queue of vehicles at the toll plaza. This is solved by toll attendants using a manual scanner to complete transactions. This results in longer wait times for users at the toll booth.

As a result, a report from TOI reveals that the government is working on a solution. The (NHAI) National Highway Authorities of India will draw a distinctive colour line at every lane of the toll booth. When the queue of cars touch that line, the toll operator will have to open the toll gate for all the vehicles and that lane would travel free of cost.

The report also said that road transport officials are monitoring the toll plaza in real-time to ensure a smooth operation. This will help them to plan and provide solutions to any issues occurring during the early implementation of the FASTag rule.

An official working for the implementation of FASTag said, "The number of transactions through FASTag has increased to 90% from merely 60-70% even at toll plazas in remote areas. So, now we can't hide behind any excuse for congestion at toll plazas. Strict monitoring of live data through an IT platform has brought a huge change in the past few days,"

In addition to this, a government document related to FASTag has come to light, which states that the user should be exempted from toll fees if there is a malfunction from electronic devices used to collect payments. This will help reduce the congestion built-up at the toll plaza and ensure smooth flow of traffic, which has always been one of the motives behind the implementation of the FASTag rule.

According to the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989, the FASTag had been made mandatory for all registration of new four-wheeler vehicles. New vehicles will come with a FASTag fitted right from the factory. Customer looking to purchase a FASTag can get it from various online and offline options.

FASTag can be purchased from all national highway fee plazas, regional transport offices (RTOs), transport hubs, common service centres, as well as petrol pumps. Online options include bank portals such as HDFC Bank, State Bank of India, ICICI Bank, Bank of Baroda, Axis Bank, City Union Bank. The tag is also available in PayTM and Amazon; among others.

Thoughts About The FASTag Fee Exempted For Vehicles Queued Up At Toll Plaza

The use of FASTag is still at its early stage with the rule becoming mandatory earlier this month. Officials are working on various solutions to ensure smooth operations with real-time monitoring of toll plaza. Over time, the FASTag tule implementation is expected to be smooth with most issues ironed out soon.