Toll rates on highways set to go up across Karnataka from April 1

Bengaluru: Vehicle users will be paying higher toll charges with toll rates across the state set to go up by 3-5% from April 1 as part of an inflation-linked annual hike. The revised fares are expected to be notified in the coming days. 

The charges are increased in line with the Wholesale Price Index (WPI), a senior official from the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) told DH. “This will apply to almost all the toll plazas in the state. Only 10-odd toll plazas will see a price hike later in the year on September 1.

The toll charges are increased by rounding off the increase in the WPI. For example, if there is an increase of Rs 2.5 or more, it will be rounded off to Rs 5,” he elaborated. 

Some of the toll plazas where the hike will be reflected include Kaniminike and Sheshagirihalli (Bengaluru-Mysuru), Bagepalli (Bengaluru-Hyderabad), Sadahalli (Bengaluru Airport road), Nangli (Bengaluru-Tirupati), and Hulikunte and Nalluru Devanahalli (Satellite Town Ring Road).

The revision in the fee has been carried out in accordance with the provisions of the National Highways Fee (Determination of Rates and Collection) Rules, 2008, said K B Jayakumar, Project Director, NHAI.

“Toll charges at all public-funded plazas will be increased in accordance with the 2008 Fee Rules. This happens at the start of every financial year. In the remaining Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) toll plazas, where operations began before 2008, the 1997 Fee Rules are applicable, and fare changes can take place during the rest of the financial year,” he told DH, adding that a maximum hike of 5% is to be expected. 

The Bengaluru-Mysuru Expressway has seen multiple toll revisions since its inauguration in 2023.

“The expressway is one of the most expensive roads. As I travel to Mysuru almost every month for work, I feel a pinch every time the toll is hiked. A toll charge of Rs 180 for one-way travel is already quite high,” quipped Jayanth Reddy, a Whitefield resident. “From Bengaluru, the tolls especially impact passengers travelling to Kerala. We pass on the entire toll charge onto the customers, and currently it’s already between Rs 2,000 and Rs 3,000 for a road trip,” added Santosh, who runs a travel agency.