Soon, yellow lines at toll plazas will ensure that the waiting queue of vehicles is not more than 100 metres at any given point of time and if the queue is beyond the stipulated distance, then vehicles at the front can pass without paying the toll. These guidelines have been issued by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) as it seeks to minimise waiting time at toll plazas and ensure service time of not more than 10 seconds per vehicle even during peak hours.

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Noting that although at most of the toll plazas, there is no waiting time after the mandatory 100 percent FASTag, the NHAI said, ”even then if there is a queue of waiting vehicles of more than 100 metres due to some reason, the vehicles will be allowed to pass without paying toll till the queue comes within 100 meters from the toll booth”. For this purpose, a yellow line at a distance of 100 meters from the toll booth will be marked in each toll lane, the NHAI said, adding that this is to inculcate a further sense of accountability in toll plaza operators. The NHAI said these guidelines are aimed at ensuring ”minimal waiting time at the toll plazas”.

According to the NHAI, since it has successfully transitioned to 100 percent cashless tolling from mid of February 2021, the overall FASTag penetration in NHAI toll plazas has reached 96 percent and many of them have 99 percent penetration. ”Keeping in view the growing Electronic Toll Collection (ETC) penetration in the country, it has been emphasised to have a new design and construct the upcoming toll plazas as per traffic projections for the next 10 years to have an efficient toll collection system,” it said.

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The NHAI said as social distancing has become the new norm, commuters are increasingly looking at FASTag as a toll payment option as it nullifies the chances of any human contact between the drivers and the toll operators. The constant growth and adoption of FASTag by the highway users is encouraging and has helped in bringing more efficiency in toll operations, it added.

First Published:May 27, 2021 7:45 AM IST