e-collection to eliminate queues at NH toll booths

Pilot project to be launched on Delhi-Amritsar Road soon

Long queues of vehicles at toll booths on national highways will soon be a thing of the past if the Centre’s pilot project of electronic collection of toll comes through as expected.

The Centre, according to C Kandasamy, Director General (Road Development) and Special Secretary, Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, has mooted an electronic toll collection system across all national highways.

He was speaking at a seminar on ‘Pilot projects – special emphasis on greenfield expressway in Karnataka,’ organised by the Federation of Karnataka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FKCCI) here on Thursday.

As a first step towards the likely implementation of the initiative, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has selected the 350-400 km stretch between Delhi and Amritsar, passing through Panipat on NH-1 for the pilot project.

“The pilot project should be implemented soon and we can emulate it for all highways, thereby doing away with  queues at toll plazas,” he said. Kandasamy did not specify how soon the pilot project could be started.

A committee headed by Nandan Nilekani has recommended a Radio-frequency identification (RFID) system for e-collection of toll, he said. The NHAI is in talks with four banks, including SBI and ICICI, for the pilot project as the funding is expected to happen through them.

Some other experts told Deccan Herald that not only will such a system help in seamless travel, but it will also have other benefits like a better audit control and transparency of toll transactions, thereby reducing revenue leakage.

For commuters, it will help save on fuel, reduce stops and ease traffic congestion.
While there were other technologies that could be used for e-collection, like a 5.8 GHz passive Microwave (Passive), 5.8 GHz active Microwave (Active), infrared, communication air-interface long and medium range-infrared (CALM-IR) and so on, the Nilekani committee suggested RFID.

According to sources, the committee had said deploying a cost-effective technology was one of the challenges and that the pilot project would help assess this, besides finding out whether the technology is user-friendly.

Currently, although NHAI has a total network of over 70,000 km, only about 8,000 km is tolled. “The e-collection system should help us enhance the coverage to at least 25,000 km, in about three years after inception,” a source said.

Speaking on the sidelines of the seminar, R K Gupta, Project Director (Technical) of NHAI, Karnataka, said a similar technology –– the on-board electronic unit (OEU) –– used at the Electronics City Flyover toll booth for e-collection has, however, not been used by many people.

“Not too many people use the OEU lane on this flyover. Yes, there is a limitation with this booth, in that commuters would have to invest a small amount only for this specific booth and cannot use the facility at other booths,” he said. However, the proposed RFID project, once implemented, will be pan-India, he added. Any vehicle with an RFID tag can pass by any toll booth without stopping.