The Hindu Business Line : Toll collection: NHAI to invite bids from consultants

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) plans to invite bids from consultants seeking advice on setting up a clearing-house for electronic toll collection systems. The consultants would also be asked to provide inputs on adopting a technology best suited for Indian highways.

To ensure that users are able to pay toll through a single smart card or on-board vehicle unit on all stretches of national highways, two types of interoperability need to be set up — technical and administrative — said Mr R.C. Palekar, GM-Electronics, NHAI.

Smart Card

Interoperability is required as different players manage different road stretches of national highways. The toll collected for some stretches accrues to NHAI whereas for some stretches, it goes to private road developers managing the NH. Technical interoperability would ensure that a smart card bought to pay toll on any NH stretch is accepted by all smart card readers installed by different road operators on the NH. Similarly, a vehicle attached with any on-board unit should be able to pay toll at all NH stretches.

But technical interoperability would have to be backed by administrative interoperability at the back-end of the systems so that each player gets his toll at the end of the day, pointed out Mr Palekar.

If the toll from some plazas is to accrue to NHAI and some to the respective road operators, then the back-end system should ensure that requisite toll amount should be debited at each toll plaza and accrue to the respective road operators.

The total toll amount debited from the user's card needs to be segregated by a centralised agency — probably by an authorised bank — managing a clearing house and credited into the accounts of different toll operators in a secured manner, he said.

While this is the broad framework, the NHAI plans to seek specific advice from consultants on the method best suited for Indian conditions to set up electronic toll collection systems, a central clearing house concept, apart from getting the best practices adopted worldwide.

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Toll collection: NHAI to invite bids from consultants