The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways will implement a GPS-based toll system on May 1st, marking a significant advancement to improve toll collection and travel convenience on national highways. Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said the change would gradually replace the existing FASTag system. The new toll policy promises to offer a quicker and more effective substitute for the current toll collection system and will be put into effect nationwide within the next 15 days. With the use of an on-board GPS unit installed in cars, this system will only charge customers for the distance traveled on toll roads.
The device will use the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) to track the distance traveled, and the associated toll money will be automatically taken out of the user’s linked digital wallet. This new method’s distance-based billing mechanism, which differs from the existing fixed-rate system, is one of its main advantages. It is expected that the removal of toll booths from highways will ease traffic and cut down on delays for drivers. The Ministry also anticipates that the real-time tracking tool will reduce billing errors.
The implementation, which was initially planned for April 1, was postponed in order to transition from the US-based GPS to India’s own GNSS. It will be implemented by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), initially focusing on commercial vehicles like trucks and buses and then moving on to individual automobiles.