[deerhunter]

Originally Posted by rohanak1

In the last few years, the situation at our toll booths has worsened..

We need to have proper entry and exit ramps. Obviously this needs more land which is in scarcity in this country. By having proper entry/exit ramps, what can then be done is that, we can have unmanned gates on entry ramps just issuing tickets and manned gates on exit ramps collecting the toll. That way probably the rush at toll booths will spread out and reduce. Yes, there would be queues at entry ramps but they would be moving as there is no payment involved. Taking an example, if I am travelling from Pune to Bangalore I would collect a token at Pune while entering NH4 and pay the money when I exit at Bangalore.

I agree that the queues have become unbearable at some toll booths. But the entry-exit system that you mentioned is impossible in India. It will work only in access controlled highways(read: express ways). In a country like India, where the villagers along the route too take the highway for local transit, access control is difficult to implement. Also, in case of access controlled highways, additional road infrastructure has to be built for the villages along the route for their local transit. This will increase the cost of the project as well as local opposition. A capital scarce country like India cannot set aside capital for countrywide access controlled highways.

[rohanak1]

Originally Posted by deerhunter

I agree that the queues have become unbearable at some toll booths.

The government definitely needs to do something to solve this problem as it takes away a lot of time. We zip through between toll booths and then spend painful minutes at them.

On my recent trip to the US, while driving from San Antonio to South Padre, I encountered unmanned toll booths which would record the car number and ask for payment by mail. Alamo car rental charged my card after about 15-20 days when they received the mail. But such a system would never work in India as most people will not pay.

Another amazing thing I saw was toll booths while entering Houston (Sam Houston tollway) had no boom barriers and everyone waited and paid and then exited. Again this cannot be done in India.

[deerhunter]

Originally Posted by rohanak1

I encountered unmanned toll booths which would record the car number and ask for payment by mail. Alamo car rental charged my card after about 15-20 days when they received the mail. But such a system would never work in India as most people will not pay.

This can be implemented in India. But for this, a uniform style of number plate has to be implemented first. The much talked about high security plates, if implemented nationwide, will help in this. Without a uniform system, the sensor wont even be able to detect plates.

Another amazing thing I saw was toll booths while entering Houston (Sam Houston tollway) had no boom barriers and everyone waited and paid and then exited. Again this cannot be done in India.

This will never work in a million years in India.

[stanjohn123]

We all know how many car's get sold in a month. Now make an average of the road tax paid and multiply it with the number of car's sold in a year and see how much revenue is the government making.

Ask yourself, is it then justified for us to pay tool booth tax again for the roads.

[scopriobharath]

There is a simple solution. Make FASTAG compulsory for all motor vehicles. The local villager has to just go to the nearest toll booth and get his tag exempted from toll, so that he gets a free ride.

Use Insurance industry (annual renewal) to keep a check and implement this. Rules should be simple - If FASTAG reader doesn't work at toll plaza, the car goes toll-free, so the onus is on the toll plaza / NAHI to ensure working order.

It is not difficult in implement, it is just willingness to do so.

Use NJ Transit system to enforce this. NJ Transit says Ticket fare is X if pre-purchased or ticket fare is 3X if purchased on train. There is no fine concept or ticketless travel concept. Similarly, Pay X toll through Smartcard / FASTAG / RFID Tag or pay 5X toll as cash stating some inconvenience fee or something. This would act as a deterrent and compel people to recharge their accounts periodically.

Majority of the common man would be benefit by this. Anyway local goons-politicians-police would anyway be exempted from the toll as they would just zoom across.

[deerhunter]

Originally Posted by scopriobharath

There is a simple solution. Make FASTAG compulsory for all motor vehicles. The local villager has to just go to the nearest toll booth and get his tag exempted from toll, so that he gets a free ride.

This is a good solution for reducing congestion at the toll booths. But there are many who use tolled highways only a couple of times a year, and there are some in few parts of India who has to go through a toll booth only once every couple of years. A prepaid card for them is inconvenient, because they barely get to use it.

The best method would be auto detection of license plates and payment at a later date.

[rav11stars]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

For example, in Switzerland, if you are in the country for a day or for a year, you need to buy a 40 CHF vignette.
In Austria you can buy a year vignette for 76E or a weekly one for 7.5E
But will our babus and netas implement it. Do they have the brain matter necessary to think of such a solution? I certainly hope so!

I've recently moved to the UAE and noticed that they use a similar system here. It's called Salik. https://www.salik.gov.ae

Salik, meaning open or clear, is Dubai’s road toll system that operates without toll booths or barriers.
Quite obviously It was impressive. You need not stop or slow down. Just drive. The only difference being that Freeways/expressways are free here. But then the implementation remains the same.

Like a member mentioned we can make Fasttag compulsory, at least for the four wheelers and encourage it by effectively managing the dedicated lane for it.
That will encourage others to follow suit.

[scopriobharath]

Originally Posted by deerhunter

This is a good solution for reducing congestion at the toll booths. But there are many who use tolled highways only a couple of times a year, and there are some in few parts of India who has to go through a toll booth only once every couple of years. A prepaid card for them is inconvenient, because they barely get to use it.

The best method would be auto detection of license plates and payment at a later date.

Yeah !! I Agree - But unfortunately the Government isn't so keen.

Take an analogy of Demonetization - On one hand govt pushes for cashless transactions, but there is no effort towards that in govt operated services like buses, suburban trains etc. I even had to pay my house construction fees by Demand draft. Online / plastic methods aren't accepted by Corporations, RTOs, state transports / town-buses etc still, even though they are the babies of the government.

Similarly, It is far more easier to implement FASTAG it is driven by private players and RBI (PAN Card is mandatory in Chennai for applying). The time and process to implement RFID would be prioritized for tax payers. FASTAG is a temporary feasible solution and easily implementable.

For old cars, It is costlier and much more complicated & Time consuming to issue a new number plate, but it is far more easier to implement pasting a sticker on the windshield.

[srishiva]

I concur with the idea of recording the movement and paying up later. Either you could do this yourself from a portal or send the details to a bank (like phone bills). They could make it mandatory to renew your insurance or something to make sure one pays !

With govt trying to create the road infrastructure at a faster pace and making most of it tolled (very bad :(), they should come up with multiple options to pay.

[narayan]

I couldn't agree more for a better solution to collect tolls -- just back from a trip to Trivandrum from Chennai and the average toll collected is over Rs 1 per km ( this despite the last 100 odd kms being toll free ). The waiting time in the toll plaza is a big drag but in a country fraught with enforcement issues as well as multiple jurisdictions I wonder what can be an alternate solution ?

Originally Posted by scopriobharath

Yeah !! I Agree - But unfortunately the Government isn't so keen.

Take an analogy of Demonetization - On one hand govt pushes for cashless transactions, but there is no effort towards that in govt operated services like buses, suburban trains etc. I even had to pay my house construction fees by Demand draft. Online / plastic methods aren't accepted by Corporations, RTOs, state transports / town-buses etc still, even though they are the babies of the government.

The above you mentioned is precisely the issue of jurisdiction and lack of state-centre alignment of priorities. most state govts will rarely allow online payment methods because it takes away that additional corruption touch point.

[ashwin489]

I tried applying for a FASTAG online, but I have to apparently go to the toll office and submit address proof, ID proof, PAN card, photo, etc.

Can't they just track me, based on my credit card info? Since my bank anyways has all of that info linked to my account?

All this talk of cashless economy is utter bullcrap.

[deerhunter]

Toll collection do not make any sense macroeconomically too. If the proposal in the below link comes to fruition, it is a win-win for all. (except the corrupt, ofcourse)

http://overdrive.in/opinions/can-tol...one-away-with/

The total toll collection in India in 2015 was around Rs 15,000 crore. AIMTC is ready to pay Rs 5,000 crore over that amount for the government to stop collection of toll. The transport industry loses Rs 1,45,000 crore a year due to fuel burnt by idling vehicles at tollbooths and the time lost. “We will happily part with Rs 20,000 crore every year as the losses we are suffering due to tollbooths are crippling.”

The Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation Limited (MSRDC), the state government’s own road agency, has also in the past recommended closure of all the five tollbooths on the fringes of Mumbai, citing losses that are nearly 20 times higher than the actual toll collection. It is estimated that Mumbai’s economy suffers a loss of about Rs 6,700 crore due to the average waiting time of eight minutes at these five tollbooths. And what is the annual revenue from these booths –– just some Rs 360 crore!

[sgiitk]

Originally Posted by stanjohn123

We all know how many car's get sold in a month. Now make an average of the road tax paid and multiply it with the number of car's sold in a year and see how much revenue is the government making.

Ask yourself, is it then justified for us to pay tool booth tax again for the roads.

I may tend to agree but, and this is a big but. With all the noise about social justice and the like the state could not afford to fund roads, without the tolls, under the PPP model. One can always argue, pay as you go, tolls plus high taxation on fuel, or everybody chips in, ie a common (and higher) road tax.

I see no problem in pay as you go, as long as the queues at toll booths can be managed. How about, if the queue/wait exceeds three (or maybe even five) minutes then toll is suspended. Used to happen on the NH25 Kanpur-Lucknow. Every reason for the franchisees to be efficient. One reason that Gurugram decided to pay the franchisee directly and did away with the toll on NH8. The commercial vehicle tax of Delhi nullifies some of this.

We have another problem all goondas, netas, and sundry people start to argue that they should be exempted. My solution everyone pays, and let them claim it back.

[DuHasstMich]

Went for a drive on NH8 on Sunday, it was simply amazing to see long queues in the FASTag lanes..obviously all were paying by cash!
Sad how the entire concept of 'FAST' is nullified so easily in India.

[stanjohn123]

Originally Posted by sgiitk

I may tend to agree but, and this is a big but. With all the noise about social justice and the like the state could not afford to fund roads, without the tolls, under the PPP model. One can always argue, pay as you go, tolls plus high taxation on fuel, or everybody chips in, ie a common (and higher) road tax.

Then why can't the govt stop charging us road tax when we buy a new car. Or why don't they just rename road tax as anti-competition tax or govt incompetence tax. I know, couldn't control it.