Mumbai: In a bid to reduce serpentine queues of vehicles at toll plazas on national highways (NH), toll will be directly debited from accounts linked to RFID-based FASTags pasted on vehicle windscreens, said Rajeev Singh, chief general manager, National Highways Authority of India (NHAI). This, he said, will begin from December 1.
Singh explained that only one lane of toll plazas would be kept as a hybrid lane (extreme left lane in both direction) to accept both cash payments and FASTags, while all the other lanes will be enabled with the mechanism of FASTags.
Any vehicle user without a FASTag entering a FASTag-enabled lane will have to pay twice the toll fees as fine. Singh added that this rule will help vehicle owners to make payments digitally and support Centre’s “one nation one — one tag” initiative.
Interestingly, to achieve the December 1 deadline, NHAI, from Friday till November end, through Indian Highways Management Company Limited (IHMCL) will be distributing FASTags free of cost.
Besides this, vehicle users can also purchase the FASTags from selected banks which are partners with NHAI and on online platforms like Amazon.
The stickers can be purchased at a cost of Rs 100 each. Moreover, an initial recharge of Rs 100 and an additional Rs 200 as a security deposit is needed to be kept to activate the FASTag by the users.
Furthermore, to create awareness about FASTag usage, pamphlets are being distributed. Similarly, regular announcements are being made on all National Highway toll plazas.
Also, a message is printed on toll receipts. Besides this, agency people and traffic marshals are deployed to create awareness who individually are reaching out to vehicle owners whenever they pass from these toll plazas, informed Singh.
“Sale has increased due to rigorous awareness campaigns. As per records on a daily basis, at least 300 people are buying the FASTags.”
In Maharashtra, NHAI has a total of 19 toll plazas of which 15 centres have been enabled with FASTag lanes and the remaining four will soon be enabled with the system.
Besides this, to avoid any confusion among users, the authority has already come up with a dedicated lane of FASTag on a trial basis.
Fixing FASTags on windshield
Step 1- Remove the adhesive liner from the tag sticker
Step 2- Install on the top middle of the windshield from inside the vehicle (Behind rear view mirror)
Step 3- Press the sticker gently on the windshield
Step 4- Always keep the adhesive side facing outside
Step 5- Once the sticker is pasted, do not try to remove or reposition it
Dont’s
Do not paste the FASTag on the dirty or wet glass surface
Do not use tape or any supplementary adhesive to affix FASTag.
