Vehicles without FASTags to pay double the toll from Dec 1; all you need to know

With FASTags, vehicles won't have to wait in queues at toll plazas

noida-toll [File] FASTags are being implemented pan-India to remove bottlenecks and ensure seamless movement of traffic at toll plazas | Representational image

Come December 1, India will usher in new payments mechanism using FASTags at toll plazas. Any vehicle—private or commercial—will be able to swiftly pass through toll plazas without being in the queue. All you need to have is a FASTag slapped on to the windshield of the car for the same. 

As the deadline to get a FASTag is fast approaching, the government has warned that vehicles that end up in the electronic toll collection lane without a FASTag will be charged double the toll amount from December 1. Non-FASTag users will be charged double the normal toll if they pass through FASTag lanes, according to the rules.

Confirming the same, Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari, has directed that on-the-spot mechanism for issuing FASTags for vehicles entering dedicated FASTag lane should also be put in place from December 1, so that road users have a choice of either obtaining the FASTag or paying double penal fee for using FASTag lane.

What's a FASTag?

 

FASTags are the radio frequency identification (RFID) tags and will be pasted on the windshield of the vehicle. The tag has an RFID chip on board, which becomes the unique identity of a vehicle and helps in toll collection. The unique ID will be connected to the prepaid account of the user and will automatically deduct toll charges when the vehicle passes through the toll lanes. As a four-wheeler passes through a toll plaza, there will be dedicated lanes that have FASTag readers installed overhead—and as your vehicle passes beneath them, the RFID code is detected, read, the necessary amount deducted from the prepaid balance and your journey through the toll plaza is authenticated. 

Why FASTags?

 

FASTags come under the National Electronic Toll Collection (NETC) programme, the flagship initiative of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. The programme is being implemented pan-India to remove bottlenecks and ensure seamless movement of traffic. However, the Centre has decided to keep one lane as hybrid lane, which will accept FASTag as well as other modes of payment. However, the government intends to eventually phase out this lane too. 

How to get a FASTag?

 

There are more than 28,500 point-of-sale locations, including NH fee plazas, RTOs, common service centers, transport hubs, bank branches and selected petrol pumps, that issue FASTags. All the major banks and a host of smaller banks such as Karur Vysya Bank, Equitas Small Finance Bank, Paytm Payments Bank, Saraswat Bank, Fino Payments Bank and Nagpur Nagarik Sahakari Bank also issue FASTags. In addition, online retailer Amazon also sells FASTags. 

After you buy it, you need to activate it by entering details in My FASTag mobile app. After that, you need to link the tag to an existing bank account for deduction of toll tax.

Pan-India implementation

 

According to media reports, all toll plazas in the Delhi-National Capital Region have switched to 100 per cent electronic toll collection. States like Punjab, Gujarat, Rajasthan have also been equipped with the required infrastructure. All national highways across India will be equipped with 100 per cent ETC infrastructure before December 1. As of now, more than 80 per cent toll plazas on national highways have ETC-facility in all lanes.