Page 56 - TrafficInfratech Magazine Feb - Mar 2020

TOLLING

The Datafication

of India’s Highways

No matter how fast commuters could drive on the highway, they
always got stuck while paying the toll. But now paying toll is

made simpler than before and how?

olling is a hot topic today Government of India launched the However, with the strong support
because the toll collection National Electronic Toll Collection of the government institutions,
has been a long-standing (NETC) program that introduced including MoRTH, NHAI and IHMCL
impediment in increasing radio-frequency identification (RFID) have ensured success of the program
Tthe efficiency of vehicle based electronic toll collection in in the last 18 months. Today, 142
movement. Consider this: before any 2014. Branded as FASTag, this banks are live on UPI, compared
of the modern electronic mechanisms program was aimed at ensuring free- with 21 banks when the payment
came into play, India could waste 12 flow tolling across the entire National system was launched three years
lakh litres fuel burn daily, 12 minutes Highways (NH) network of the ago. About 5.35 billion UPI-based
of waiting time and 20 lakh man/ country. However, by March 2016, transactions were recorded in FY
hours involved daily. the FASTag program had failed to 18-19 as compared to 915.2 million
gain any traction. Only about 5,000 in FY 17-18. The total transactions of
FASTag technology tags were in circulation 1.5 years UPI jumped to 1.15 billion in October
To counter this impediment, the after the launch. 2019 from 0.96 billion in September

56 February-March 2020 / TrafficInfraTech www.trafficinfratech-com-500653.hostingersite.com