NHAI’s plan for jam-free toll plazas: New devices and faster FASTag [Details]

New Delhi:  It was found that even after the implementation of the FASTag system at toll plazas, commuters had to wait in long queues to pass through the plazas on various highways across the length and breadth of the country. This resulted in long traffic jams on the highways causing hardship to commuters. The National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) has recently taken three steps to solve this problem.

First, toll plaza agents have been ordered to deploy only those equipment at toll plazas which are certified by manufacturers authorised by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.

The FASTag payment transaction process at various toll plazas have been found to be slow. This redundant process stemmed from poor IT infrastructure being used in the FASTag system and also because of poor quality of hardware installed at the toll plazas. The hardware like cameras, number plate readers, FASTag readers, etc was found to be of poor quality. It was also found that in some toll plazas, hardware failed to read the vehicle tags and toll collectors had to use handheld devices to capture those which resulted in long queues and highway traffic jams.

Second, the highway authority has announced that it will recruit only experienced players to run the toll plazas. Their experience will come in handy to overcome all the challenges currently being faced at the plazas.

And third, NHAI will also deploy engineers at its regional offices to monitor smooth traffic movement on highways and quicker resolution of the issues. Albeit, this will be a temporary step.

These steps would help commuters as they will not be required to wait in long queues at toll plazas and highway traffic will move seamlessly giving much needed relief to the people. According to the NHAI, as of April 1, 2024, the FASTag penetration level stood at 98 per cent in the country. While, there were around eight crore users.

 The National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) has ordered all toll plaza operators on highways in the country to install certified equipment to expedite the FASTag transaction process.  Biz News Business News – Personal Finance News, Share Market News, BSE/NSE News, Stock Exchange News Today