Pilot of run of toll system on Delhi-Mumbai highway

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) is planning  on  rolling out a pilot project on a "pay as you use" toll system on the Delhi-Mumbai highway soon.

The pilot project is expected to run for one year and involves implementing a satellite-based electronic toll collection system running on  GPS and mobile telecommunication technology for vehicles plying on the Delhi-Mumbai highway, said an official from the NHAI.

The combination of technology is able to deduct money from a vehicle account, credit to the concessionaire within one day and open the toll gate, said an official.

The new system will draw a comparison between distance-based tolling and the existing tolling system, said the official.

In his budget speech, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley announced that the government will come out with a policy to introduce a toll system on a "pay as you use" basis.

At present, travellers have to pay fixed charges for the entire stretch of toll road regardless the distance they travel.

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has proposed a system called as closed toll policy, in which the commuters have to pay on a per km basis and toll charges will be collected from them based on the distance they travel.

The new system will help to ease the burden on highways users who have been criticising the government toll policy due to the rising costs of travel.