New Delhi: Vehicles without FASTag would have to pay double the toll fee at electronic toll plazas from Monday midnight across the country.
The government has made FASTags mandatory from February 15 midnight and any vehicle not fitted with it will be charged double the toll at electronic toll plazas across the country, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has said.
It has decided that all lanes in the fee plazas on National Highways shall be declared as ‘FASTag lane of the fee plaza’ from midnight of February 15-16, 2021.
“As per NH Fee Rules 2008, any vehicle not fitted with FASTag or vehicle without valid, functional FASTag entering into the FASTag lane of the fee plaza shall pay a fee equivalent to two times of the fee applicable to that category,” the Ministry said.
This has been done to further promote fee payment through digital mode, reduce waiting time and fuel consumption, and provide for a seamless passage through the fee plazas.
The ministry had mandated fitment of FASTag in M&N categories of motor vehicles with effect from January 1, 2021.
Category ‘M’ stands for a motor vehicle with at least four wheels used for carrying passengers and category ‘N’ stands for a motor vehicle with at least four wheels used for carrying goods, which may also carry persons in addition to goods.
Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari on Sunday made it clear that the deadline for implementation of FASTag would not be extended further, and the vehicle owners should immediately adopt the e-payment facility.
FASTags, which facilitate electronic payment of fee at toll plazas, was introduced in 2016. Making the tags compulsory would also help in ensuring that vehicles pass seamlessly through the toll plazas, as the fee payment would be done electronically.
FASTag is also available on toll booths.
The Centre extended the FASTag deadline for the vehicles from January 1, 2021, to February 15, 2021.
What’s FASTag
FASTag is a RFID passive tag used for making toll payments directly from the customers linked prepaid or savings/current account. It is affixed on the windscreen of the vehicle and enables the customer to drive through toll plazas, without stopping for any toll payments.
The device uses Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology to communicate with scanner installed at toll plazas. Once the car crosses the toll plaza the requisite toll amount is automatically deducted from a bank account or a prepaid walled linked to the FASTag. Vehicles can drive through plazas without stopping.
One can buy FASTags from branches or online services of banks including SBI, HDFC, ICICI, Bank of Baroda, Axis, City Union Bank. The FASTag is also being issued at the NHAI’s points of sale at all toll plazas, PayTM, e-commerce websites such as Amazon, and Road Transport Authority (RTA) offices.
