Page 36 - TrafficInfraTech Dec-Jan 2019

TOLLING

tolling system. It has been successfully the concessionaire raises a subsequent
implemented in many developed debit adjustment to cover his losses. These
countries, the only difference that we problems need to be addressed.
have from the other countries is the high The fifth parameter is Connectivity
level of enforcement they are having. and Cost. Connectivity was a major
Till the time we address the problem in 2010, but it has got sorted
enforcement issue, we cannot have out to some extent. At least from a
a barrier-free tolling system in India connectivity point of view, 90% of the
because without it, the concessionaires plazas have a good connectivity. RFID
will take the hit on account of default by technology encompasses all the five critical
Whenever you are customers. Obviously, positive steps for factors, but the cost of implementation
is the lowest for RFID technology, and
integration with VAHAN database. But if
creating an ecosystem you don’t have proper enforcement, how hence was the deciding factor for India.
the only success factor will one manage the non-payment risk. Looking at how FASTag programme
is collaboration. Prior to Today, all the banks who are providing has fared till now, we are covering 430+
a FASTag, operate on a prepaid model.
NPCI coming in, there Gradually, when this program will toll plazas. Out of these, only seven toll
plazas are under state, all the rest are
was no collaboration mature, it will get into a postpaid or on National Highways. This is one of the
happening. That was the also it will get into a credit kind of a current limitations. Till the time we cover
challenge. We focussed on model but as of now it is prepaid model. all the state highways, this program is not
going to take off in a big way. The recent
For any new ETC technology,
the operational part rather integration with the current system notification of MoRTH, making FASTag
than technology and that is the first issue. A lot of people come mandatory on all vehicle sold after Dec
is where we started seeing with mobile-based or other solutions. 2017, has really played a huge role in
increasing the sales of FASTag , and
the success. The first challenge for them is how to 30 lakh tags are already been sold out.
identify the vehicle and the second is
Denny Thomas how to integrate it with the existing toll As on November 2018, NETC
plaza system. Because, a concessionaire system has successfully processed 262
some references, there were only one cannot run multiple systems parallelly. million transactions amounting to Rs
lakh tags prior to Dec 2016 across the He can’t run a FASTag system, and a GPS 614 million. This is huge and the current
country and in the month of December system all together unless and until at the penetration is almost at 25% that is 25%
alone we sold one lakh tags and that is the backend, all the systems are talking to his of all the toll value that is collected comes
kind of volume one had to go through. one single TMS. So that is the challenge. through FASTag. There are 21 banks
The government and NHAI is now With this perspective, we need who are issuing FASTag, there will be
doing trials on a GPS based solution to understand why India chose RFID more banks which would be joining in.
-- pay as you use. The technology is technology in the first place. There are The daily average tag issuance
costly, so there is a lot of infrastructure five important parameters which need to is in the range of around 8000 tags.
expenses that will go in to upgrade the be addressed by any ETC technology. The The daily transaction that happens is
toll plazas. There is a one-year pilot that first is vehicle identification, the second is almost in the range of almost 7 lakh
has been kind of planned. Customer vehicle classification, the third is obviously transactions per day. In December 2016,
would be paying as per the distance the entire transaction processing and the it was 30,000 transactions a day. So, in
they would be covering on the national fourth is the most important thing, the just 19 months, it has jumped to seven
highway. The only question being asked violation processing. This is something the lakh transactions, it could have gone
now is if the barrier would go? How will new technologies are missing out. In the further but obviously there are more
you differentiate a GPS enabled vehicle absence of our proper integration with issues that we need to address fast.
with a FASTag vehicle or a cash vehicle? VAHAN database, there will always be The current average ticket
These challenges needs to be addressed violation cases, which simply means the size is around Rs 228. The national
and everyone in the ecosystem will have discrepancy in the vehicle classification, ie average ticket size is around Rs.160,
to come out with the right solutions. the vehicle is identified as a car but the indicating it is the heavy vehicles
The current challenges in the overall actual vehicle which crossed the toll plaza which have adopted this technology
ETC ecosystem, it is to make barrier-free was a truck. So, in all such violation cases, more than the retail customers.

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