Mumbai: Under the current FASTag system in place at toll plazas across India, vehicles have to wait in line and can proceed only after the barriers are opened. This causes unnecessary traffic congestion, as well as fuel and time wastage.
As a permanent solution to this problem, the Central Government is working intensively to introduce a barrier-free toll payment system, under which vehicles can pass through at their normal speed without stopping anywhere.
In this context, speaking at the Global Fintech Festival held in Mumbai yesterday, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari said: Within one year, under the multi-lane free flow traffic model, we want to implement a seamless toll payment system at all our toll plazas. I have instructed the officials to complete this by December 2026.
Accordingly, I believe that 60 to 70 percent of the work will be completed by the end of this year. By March 2027, the barrier-free toll plaza system will be implemented across the country. Because the waiting time at toll plazas will be reduced, about 71 crore hours and 56 crore liters of fuel will be saved annually.
The value of the fuel is estimated at approximately Rs. 5,250 crore, and the economic value of the time saved by passengers is estimated at Rs. 68,500 crore. With this project, toll plaza operating costs will be reduced from 2% to 4%. This will help save between Rs. 6,000 crore and Rs. 7,000 crore annually. He spoke thus.