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Sales of FASTag — the RFID chip stickers that allow vehicles to zoom through toll booths on national highways — have more than trebled in 2018, with 37.37 lakh tags sold by December. However, they still account for just a fourth of the tolls collected.
Over the past year, the Centre has been trying to accelerate sales of FASTags, which are issued by the Indian Highways Management Company Ltd, a National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) subsidiary. It has capped the price of the tags at ₹100 inclusive of GST, tied up with State governments to ensure the tags are valid at State toll plazas, and made arrangements to sell the tags at petrol pumps.
Making FASTags cheaper, and making them available at certain States’ toll collection points, has led to higher sales. “In July 2018, NHAI capped the price of FASTags at ₹100 including 18 per cent GST. Initially banks were selling FASTags for ₹200-250,” said a government official.
A large number of toll plazas have adopted the FASTag system, sparing users the inconvenience of waiting in a queue, readying cash and having to haggle for change or accept toffees.
States that have installed, or are in the process of installing, FASTag infrastructure at toll plazas owned or operated by them include Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Punjab and AP/Telangana (Hyderabad Outer Ring Road).
The NHAI has some 450 toll plazas while States have around 500, according to data shared by the NHAI recently.
By December 2016, 350 toll plazas of NHAI had the requisite FASTag infrastructure, and the number went up to 397 in January 2018. By December 2018, 457 toll booths were on board, including 26 belonging to State governments and one to the Road Ministry.
FASTags will be integrated with e-Way bill soon. With their 24-digit unique identity numbers, they may well emerge as the Aadhaar of vehicles. They enable e-checking of vehicles including updating pollution certificates, insurance and vehicle-tracking, ultimately improving road safety and security.
Road blocks
Yet, there are plenty of reasons FASTags account for just a quarter of the toll collection. Their usage is vastly limited by the fact that several consumers are unaware of them. Many do not know where to buy the tags, and the points of sale are still limited despite governmental measures.
Also, several toll plazas do not have infrastructure to support RFID use. And there is the preference for cash payments, particularly by those who do not travel often on highways.
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