NEW TOLL COLLECTION SYSTEM
1. Context
Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari said in Parliament in February that the government plans to implement a new highway toll collection system based on the global navigation satellite system before the model code of conduct for the 2024 election kicks in
2.What is road toll System in India?
India has implemented various toll collection systems for its road infrastructure. One common toll collection method is through toll booths or plazas located on national highways and some state highways. Here's a brief overview of the road toll system in India:
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Manual Toll Collection:
- Toll booths are set up at various points on highways.
- Vehicles passing through the toll booths need to stop and pay the toll in cash.
- Toll charges are based on factors such as the type of vehicle, distance traveled, and the number of axles.
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Electronic Toll Collection (ETC):
- The government has been promoting the use of electronic toll collection systems to reduce traffic congestion and facilitate smoother transactions.
- FASTag is one such electronic toll collection system introduced in India. It is a prepaid tag that allows automatic deduction of toll charges.
- FASTag users can drive through dedicated lanes at toll booths without stopping, as the toll amount is deducted automatically from their prepaid account.
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FASTag Implementation:
- FASTag is mandatory for all vehicles in India as of February 15, 2021.
- Vehicle owners can purchase FASTags from authorized banks, online platforms, or through certain point-of-sale locations near toll plazas.
- The tag is linked to the vehicle's registration details and a prepaid account.
3.What is the new proposed highway tolling system?
- The term "global navigation satellite system" encompasses satellite-based navigation systems, such as the United States' Global Positioning System (GPS). Unlike GPS alone, this system utilizes a vast array of satellites to furnish users worldwide with more precise location and navigation information.
- A representative from the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways clarified that its implementation involves incorporating an On-Board Unit (OBU) or tracking device within a vehicle.
- This device enables the mapping of the vehicle's location using GAGAN, the Indian satellite navigation system, with an approximate accuracy of 10 meters.
- The process entails logging the coordinates of the entire stretch of the country's national highways through digital image processing.
- Software is then employed to determine the toll rate for a specific highway, calculate the toll amount based on the vehicle's travel distance, and subsequently deduct it from a wallet linked to the OBU. To enforce compliance, the system includes gantries or arches equipped with CCTV cameras at various highway points.
- These cameras capture images of the vehicle's high-security registration plate and cross-verify if a road user attempts to deceive the system by removing the tracking device or traveling without an OBU onboard.
- The Ministry official further elucidated that the technology's objective is to offer users the advantage of paying tolls only for the actual distance covered on a highway, following a pay-as-you-use model. The government anticipates that this system will eventually facilitate barrier-free movement
4.Challenges
- One significant challenge presented by this technology involves the difficulty of recovering toll amounts in instances where a road user neglects to settle the payment upon completing a journey on a highway, such as when the digital wallet linked to the On-Board Unit (OBU) is depleted.
- As there are no physical barriers to halt non-compliant vehicles, various issues arise, such as when a vehicle travels on a highway without a linked OBU device, when the OBU is intentionally deactivated to evade payment, or when a car's OBU is installed on a truck to reduce toll charges.
- To address these concerns, it is necessary to establish Gantry-mounted Automatic Number-Plate Recognition (ANPR)-based systems for capturing violations on highways throughout India. However, as of now, no such infrastructure is in place in the country.
- Moreover, the effectiveness of an ANPR system hinges on the quality of license plates, which are currently limited to specific cities and states. To ensure the recovery of unpaid tolls, define offenses, and mandate the inclusion of an OBU in vehicles, the government will need to amend the National Highways Fee (Determination of Rates and Collection) Rules
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How does it safeguard privacy?
When asked about the government's strategy for preserving the privacy of vehicle users, the Ministry official explained that, as a first measure, the decision was made to utilize the GAGAN satellite system instead of GPS, owned by the U.S., to ensure the security of data within the country. The official further stated that, while the concept is still evolving, the Digital Personal Data Protection Act of 2023, enacted in Parliament last year, aims to tackle privacy concerns. It is worth noting that this law faced criticism from civil society for expanding exemptions provided to government agencies, potentially leading to heightened state surveillance
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5. Status of FASTags
- The forthcoming tolling system will operate alongside the existing FASTag-based toll collection, as the government has yet to decide whether On-Board Units (OBUs) will be mandatory for all vehicles or exclusively for new ones.
- Minister Gadkari has been discussing the implementation of satellite-based toll collection since 2020, despite the prior rollout of radio frequency identification-based FASTags for toll collection in 2016, becoming mandatory only on February 16, 2021.
- Substantial compliance has been achieved over the years, with 98.9% of vehicles passing through national highway toll fee plazas being FASTag compliant by December 2023.
- Toll collection has seen a 1.5 times increase, rising from ₹17,942 crore in 2016-2017 to ₹27,744 crore in 2020-2021 at National Highway fee plazas, attributable to factors such as a growing number of vehicles, toll rate revisions, and the widespread adoption of FASTags.
- Nevertheless, officials point out that the global navigation satellite system entails lower operational costs compared to FASTags, given the absence of toll plazas and a reduced number of entities involved in the toll collection process
Source: The Hindu
