NHAI issues FASTag for quicker pass-through at toll booths

TIL Desk/National/New Delhi-To facilitate seamless traffic on highways, NHAI has decided to offer FASTag to the existing monthly pass holders at select toll plazas. The development assumes significance, given that India runs up huge loss of USD 21.3 billion annually on account of delays and additional fuel consumption due to frequent halts at toll plazas and poor roads, according to an IIM-Kolkata and TCI joint study.

“In order to promote cashless payment through FASTag at toll plazas on National Highways, NHAI has decided to provide FASTag to existing monthly pass holders by absorbing the one-time cost of their FASTags,” National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) said in a statement.

FASTag, based on radio-frequency identification technology (RFID), is a simple-to-use, reloadable tag which enables automatic deduction of toll charges and lets one pass through the toll plaza without stopping for cash transaction.

In another key decision, a dedicated FASTag lane will be ensured at 48 toll plazas on Delhi-Mumbai and Mumbai-Chennai corridors effective June 20. “To facilitate purchase of FASTag by road users, points of sale at 23 toll plazas are available on these corridors,” the statement said.