Thane gets India?s first RFID based ETC system

India?s first interoperable RFID (Radio Frequency Identification Device) based electronic toll collection system has been launched in Thane, Maharashtra on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad highway. The electronic toll collection (ETC) system enables payment without the need for vehicles to stop for the toll collection, and also allows traffic monitoring. Motorists can create a pre-paid toll account online and are given RFID tags which are attached to the vehicle?s windscreens. When a vehicle passes through a toll plaza the user?s account gets debited automatically. The tags, along with roadside sensors and a computerised system, enable unique identification of each vehicle and also provide vehicle and traffic monitoring, besides data collection. The tags are available in kiosks located at toll plazas along Mumbai-Vadodara section of the highway and on the ICCI bank?s website.