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Since its introduction, RFID – ETC system has been settling quite effectively in India. The prerequisites for the effective implementation have been the Lane Equipment and Central Clearing house. The Central Clearing House has been appointed and also the lane equipment is being installed by various system integrators pan India. Uninterrupted connectivity between the plazas and the central clearing house has also been very critical and is being addressed at various levels.
Another challenge has been the various modes of operating ETC at national level. Some of the variations are mixed mode lanes, dedicated ETC lanes, open tolling ETC systems, closed tolling ETC systems etc. Because of the collective efforts between the clearing house and the ETC lane system integrators these issues are also being resolved. All these collective efforts will take India to a next level wherein we are targeting for the lane efficiency of processing 800 vehicles per lane per hour. If this is achieved; the new India will see congestion free roads and plazas.
To have a uniform RFID tolling systems in India, there are a few challenges. Firstly, standardization of ETC lane systems and the uninterrupted connectivity for a longer period shall be confirmed. The Indian Government authorities should ensure a uniform implementation of the systems pan India. Also the public awareness should be increased through promotion campaigns and related activities. The benefits of a green payment methodology should be advertised in the local news media.
Since its introduction last April, there hasn’t been any significant change seen in the RFID ETC (Electronic Toll Collection) situation in the country. This is mainly because there have not been any focused or directional guidelines and mandates brought in by the Indian government due to lack of implementation of policies. Due to the significant delay, now the ETC which uses RFID in tolling is losing focus and interest among users.
To ensure an uniform RFID tolling systems in India and smooth operations, the best practice would be a mandate in the form of a definitive push for it by the NHAI on nationwide basis. The user of RFID for Toll should see advantages, benefits in going forward with the system and investment by having a privilege of having dedicated lanes where vehicles without RFID tags are not allowed. This policy needs to be implemented strictly by the NHAI for concessionaires. Further, a Central Clearing House has to be set up and a proper test lab should be established so that only quality products are used which will increase the customer confidence in the system.
As per the Model Concessionaire’s Agreement (MCA) and the guidelines provided to the concessionaires (Section 10 of IRC:SP84:2009 – Manual of Specifications) every toll plaza needs to be equipped with a minimum of one lane in each direction with an RFID antenna and a trans-receiver. Rest of the lanes too should be ETC-ready, whenever it is decided by NHAI.
Most of the projects have witnessed issues related to land availability. Typically, at the toll plaza locations, land is always scarce. Thereby, the concessionaires are deploying the RFID systems on a minimum of one lane in each direction. However concessionaires chose the mixed lane functionality instead of a dedicated lane functionality because of fear of traffic congestion; this has impacted the success of the ETC programme
Apart from the toll plazas which fall in the vicinity of urban areas, the concessionaires have not been much able to promote the use of RFID tags. The tags are usually sold to the road users as daily passes (free travel allowed for local users) or monthly trip based passes. Technology-wise there is a status quo in terms of functionality; RFID 18000 6C which was chosen as the National Standard some years ago, still continues to be used.
The most important challenge is to bring all the plazas which exist across the National Highways under the umbrella of a Central Clearing House. Since the most important road users going through all these plazas are the commercial vehicles (trucks etc) it is important for the government to bring a policy which makes it possible for all the toll plazas belonging to different concessionaires to be able to recognize an RFID tag issued by any other concessionaire. This convergence is most important if the government wishes to implement RFID tolling seriously.
It would be prudent for us to study how RFID tolling has been implemented and challenges overcome in countries such as Brazil and China some years ago.
The government has formed the IHMCL to take the RFID programme ahead but it still requires a very well thought, focussed approach involving a consensus of all stakeholders – the end users, government departments and the concessionaires.