NHAI Issues New Guidelines Ensuring Not More Than 10 Seconds Waiting Time At Toll Plazas

National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has issued new guidelines to ensure service time does not exceed 10 seconds per vehicle even at peak hours at the toll plazas on the National Highways. The new guidelines have been issued to ensure seamless flow of traffic at the toll plazas by not allowing vehicles to queue up for more than 100 metres. Implementation of FASTag for all vehicles was the first step to reduce congestion at toll plazas and these new guidelines will help making the traffic even more free-flowing.

NHAI claims that the overall FASTag penetration in NHAI Toll Plazas has reached 96 per cent and many toll plazas have 99 per cent penetration.

According to the new guidelines, even if there is queue of waiting vehicles of more than 100 metres due to some reason, the vehicles will be allowed to pass without paying toll till the queue comes within 100 meters from the toll booth. A yellow line at a distance of 100 meters from toll booth will be marked in each toll lane marking the distance for immediate operation. The move is being made to inculcate a sense of accountability in toll plaza operators. Keeping in view the growing Electronic Toll Collection (ETC) penetration in the country, the step has been taken to emphasise having a new design and construct the upcoming toll plazas as per traffic projections for next 10 years.

Since NHAI has successfully transitioned to 100 per cent cashless tolling from mid of Feb 2021, NHAI claims that the overall FASTag penetration in NHAI Toll Plazas has reached 96 per cent and many toll plazas have 99 per cent penetration. As social distancing has become the new norm, commuters are increasingly looking at FASTag as a toll payment option as it reduces the risk of virus spread through human interaction.