NH-275 Highway: Indian authorities to replace Fastag with GNSS for toll collection, reducing traffic snarls

The Indian government will soon start testing the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) based toll collection on the ten lane Mysuru-Bengaluru Expressway (NH-275). The Union Minister of Transport and Roads Nitin Gadkari revealed the plan in Rajya Sabha (Upper House) of the Indian parliament while answering a query raised by an MP named Lahar Singh Siroya

He said that the pilot project will be rolled out before the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. The minister said a consultant has already been hired by the government for guidance to implement the GNSS based technology.

The GNSS based technology enables precise positioning for the vehicles, thus facilitating toll collection based on the distance travelled on the particular highway. He explained that the photo of the registration plate will be captured and the toll amount would be debited based on the actual length of the distance travelled by the vehicle.

The technology allows seamless movement of vehicles without the need of stopping at toll gates for payments. The GNSS based regime is economical too, as it takes into account the total distance traveled on the highway unlike th Fastag-based toll collection system.

The minister also told the parliament that a remarkable 8.13 crore Fastag have been issued with a penetration rate of 98 percent achieved since the rollout. The radio frequency identification Fastag were introduced in 2016 and mandated from January 2021.  During the 2018-19-year period at the toll plazas used to be a whopping eight minutes. However, after the introduction of Fastag, it was just reduced to 47 seconds.

Now, this GNSS based toll system is poised to reduce this time further. This will reduce traffic jams on toll plazas and contribute towards hassle-free movement. Additionally, the travellers would also get rid of the constant worry of topping up their Fastag account. Through, the GNSS based tolling, the toll fee will be detected from one’s linked bank account through a secure electronic payment system.

Nitin Gadkari said that the new system will start replacing Fastag based toll systems within the next six months. 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 thr next six months, Gadkari said.