[audioholic]

Originally Posted by N.A.GTC

oriented towards a mass surveillance system than an easy payments system. (no surprises there after Aadhar though)

Isnt your phone a much better surveillance system than the fastag on your car? I have two fastags in my name. Both cars will pass by different toll booths on a frequent basis. Sometimes at the same time, while I drive towards my native and my driver picks up my mum from the airport. What will the government do with this? Of course a person can have two or more phones in their name, but its far more information than knowing which car passed through which toll booth at what time.

Originally Posted by N.A.GTC

As someone earlier pointed out on this thread as well, the requirement to maintain a minimum balance is just absurd. My Fast Tag requires me to have a Rs. 100 balance minimum, and if the balance falls below this, no toll payments are processed.

Minimum balance is just to ensure that most of the tollbooths can be passed without your balance being insufficient. In your case, since the toll you pass through is 20 rupees, you will find the 100 rupee balance absurd. But if the same toll was 85-90 rupees, wouldnt that sound correct to have a 100 rupee balance? Unfortunately the Fastag system does not have the intelligence to understand what the typical usage conditions of individual customers are and then adopt varied minimum balance for different users.

[N.A.GTC]

Originally Posted by audioholic

Isnt your phone a much better surveillance system than the fastag on your car?

Having a phone to travel isn't compulsory, is it? It's not illegal yet to have a feature phone instead of a smart phone. Voluntary vs. mandated.

What will the government do with this?

We're putting the cart before the horse. Why should they need this information? Again, it's mandatory, not voluntary. It couldn't be any more Orwellian.
Regardless, the government regularly uses all sorts of seemingly 'minute' information about you and me, and it's extremely simple to manipulate it howsoever they desire. It may sound as if I have a tinfoil hat on my head, but I see it day-in and day-out while handling criminal matters in courts (am a lawyer).

Minimum balance is just to ensure that most of the tollbooths can be passed without your balance being insufficient. In your case, since the toll you pass through is 20 rupees, you will find the 100 rupee balance absurd. But if the same toll was 85-90 rupees, wouldnt that sound correct to have a 100 rupee balance?

So how does the minimum balance help in any case? I have sufficient balance to pay, but the system isn't allowing me, because it is supposedly lower than the 'minimum balance'. It's more troublesome. You're not letting ANYONE pay. How about the alternative: not having a minimum balance. You have sufficient balance? Great, you can pass. Oh, you don't? You should really recharge first.

Mandating a minimum balance, rather, is counter productive to the supposed goal "to ensure that most of the tollbooths can be passed without your balance being insufficient", because the moment it drops below the 'minimum' balance, it is insufficient, even if it is not actually insufficient. And that's where the issue lies.

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by N.A.GTC

So how does the minimum balance help in any case? I have sufficient balance to pay, but the system isn't allowing me, because it is supposedly lower than the 'minimum balance'. It's more troublesome. You're not letting ANYONE pay. How about the alternative: not having a minimum balance. You have sufficient balance? Great, you can pass. Oh, you don't? You should really recharge first.

Mandating a minimum balance, rather, is counter productive to the supposed goal "to ensure that most of the tollbooths can be passed without your balance being insufficient", because the moment it drops below the 'minimum' balance, it is insufficient, even if it is not actually insufficient. And that's where the issue lies.

Let me try. Tried quite a few times earlier only to explain how the system works.

Having adequate funds in your account is not the key to pass a booth. The only thing that is checked at the booth is the tag status : Either Active or Blacklisted and you simply cannot pass the booth with the latter.

Say you have 50 in your account. The booth you just passed has a toll of 40. The tag status active and you are allowed to pass the booth with 40 INR deducted only few minutes later when the ETC processes a payment request via NCPI.

And now, your balance is 10, tag status still active, which means you will still pass the next booth even if the toll is 100 because the system doesn't check your balance. However, soon after this the tag balance goes to -90.

Tag status is now blacklisted as balance is negative. You may wish to recharge or continue the rest of the journey paying cash which is totally OK. You hate this system and you decide never to recharge again. Few others may not want to recharge again as their next highway drive is months away. However, Banks of which your tag belong to sill have to honour request sent by each toll booth and they pay and assume they will recover from you when you next recharge.

Now imagine tens of thousands of such motorists not recharging for months together with their balances still negative. Hey, I can have 10 as balance and cross the next expressway booth that has a amount of 210 and leave it to the bank to pay NHAI.

Hence, having a decent threshold balance makes sense. One may still want to argue why banks can merry keeping this 100 from each tag holder but again, customers also have their share of fun by not recharging and remain complacent (if 0 was the threshold for being blacklisted).

If we need reasons, we will somehow and surely try to find many and say why we hate this system but everything takes a back seat when you have that cashless (and most of the times, seamless) travel experience. I have been using Fastag since last 4 years and across most sections of our country and have mostly got positives to share. I have nothing to gain if I said that because I am sure many others too have had similar but experiences.

Prepaid system works in many countries including a minimum balance criteria. Even Uber doesn't allow you to book a cab unless you have 350 in your Paytm(if paying via Paytm) while your trip costs just 150.

[nick.cs]

Just an update. ICICI Bank was not dispatching replacement tag to your home address in June / start of July and was asking people to go to the nearest NHAI Toll Booth where their agent would be present to give a replacement tag. Some kind of internal issue even though couriers were working.

I couldn't do the same as the toll booth was quite far from my place. However checked again with them 15 days back and they have blacklisted my existing card and have duly sent a replacement card. The process is a little slow as they took 12 days to blacklist the existing tag.

[N.A.GTC]

Originally Posted by paragsachania

Let me try. Tried quite a few times earlier only to explain how the system works.

Having adequate funds in your account is not the key to pass a booth. The only thing that is checked at the booth is the tag status : Either Active or Blacklisted and you simply cannot pass the booth with the latter.
.

Alright, thanks. This genuinely helps understand things better! Thank you

So from what I understand, the system at the toll booth cannot check the balance, and therefore cannot compare and decide whether to let you pass or not. Is there any particular reason for this? If the system can check whether the card is 'active' or not, why can it not check whether the card has 'x' amount or not as well?



Also, if someone can help me with this as well, I'd be very grateful:

Originally Posted by N.A.GTC

This rant aside, I'm looking for a specific answer too: my SBI Fastag isn't letting me recharge it - I'm unable to log in at the website. I've tried contacting the customer service, tried the road-side agents, nothing is really helping. I suspect the dealer input his (or a wrong) phone number when I purchased the car, and that is why the website is not recognising my number and stopping me from logging in. Any suggestions?

What if I simply discard the SBI fastag, and get a new, fresh one (writing off whatever measly balance I have in SBI)? Would that create any problems?

[bpnpmr]

Hello all. This is my experience on usage of Paytm fastag:

I did the MISTAKE of pasting the tag just behind the ceramic (mottled) layer in the top part of the windshield - in the center of my wagon-r
Due to this:
The operator in the toll plaza had to come out twice (out of the four times) I have been through a toll and then manually scan it. Once the manual scan too had issues.
In addition, since they cannot see it clearly, the guys manning the toll direct the car toward the lane for cash payment.

I wish, I had come across this document earlier:
FASTag Installation Process.pdf

Now I am ordering a replacement.

Otherwise, no issues with delivery / deduction of balance etc that I faced in Paytm.

[deetee]

Do we still get fastag on the spot at any of the toll plazas? I have an upcoming travel which I have to do in a relative's car. It doesn't have fastag. Looking to procure one on a very short notice. If anyone has any info, please share. Thank You.

[jkrishnakj]

Yes Deetee, you do. I have seen ICICI banners selling Fastag aa lot of NHAI offices near the toll plazas. You should be able to buy one, activate it there and carry on. Please budget about 30 minutes for this. You'll need the RC, Photo ID (Aadhar ? ).

[HalfOctave]

With FASTag being around for quite sometime now, I think I am a bit late in joining this discussion thread and actually getting a FASTag for myself.

I haven't taken a FASTag for my car yet, blame it on my laziness and also on this pandemic that I haven't been on a road trip for quite some time now. Since, it is first time for me, Can members here suggest me which issuer/vendor should I go for? I have account in ICICI, HDFC and SBI if that helps in anyways!

I went through Who is your preferred FASTag provider?, and see that ICICI Bank and PayTM are the preferred one, but I suppose there must be some old votes there in that poll and things might have changed. So seeking out suggestions here.

[statix]

I had ordered FASTag on 17th August from PayTM which was delivered today as promised. I am yet to install it on the car.

The car is in my Dad's name but linked to my wallet. Initially i thought it wasn't allowed but i faced no issues. All in all a smooth process.

[diyguy]

I need to purchase a fasttag from a pos today. Is this available at banks/airtel stores in the city? I plan to drive around today to get one for use tomorrow. Axis bank said they do not keep it in their banks and it is an online purchase only. Apart from the toll fasttag pos locations, is there any other option to get one instantly?

[BoneCollector]

Originally Posted by diyguy

I need to purchase a fasttag from a pos today. Is this available at banks/airtel stores in the city? I plan to drive around today to get one for use tomorrow. Axis bank said they do not keep it in their banks and it is an online purchase only. Apart from the toll fasttag pos locations, is there any other option to get one instantly?

There were some PayTM agents who were issuing FasTag after hand to hand verification by Aadhar at my location last year. You can try it at PayTM locations. You can call their toll free number and check.

[diyguy]

Originally Posted by BoneCollector

You can try it at PayTM locations.

Thank you for the response. I did just this. In paytm if you go to fasttag, there is an option for 'Get Fasttag near you' and from there one can find nearby stores, call them to confirm if they have stock and collect from there. Easy and super convenient. Just picked up mine.

[sahil624]

I have ordered my Fastag from Airtel Thanks app on 14th August 2020 and the order status is still in ‘validating order’ stage.. I have expressed my displeasure on their twitter account and received a call on the same day, in which they verified my details. However, it is still in validating order stage. I have insisted them, to cancel my order, even if they need to charge 100 bucks for cancellation of order, but they can’t do that either before 14 working days of placing the order.
It has been two weeks since I have been travelling on the weekends on highways and every time I have to wait at the large queue. I don’t know if anyone else has experienced this kind of a delay from Airtel, where they are taking more than 2 weeks to process an order and Paytm, on the other hand, is issuing Fastag at nearby places, hand to hand.

[Hayek]

Felt good to use my HDFC Bank Fastag for the first time on any road other than the Sea Link. I got this tag just before lockdowns got announced - and used it for the first time in May when I went for a joyride (also battery charge ride) over the sea link.

Was surprised to find that both the Airoli and Vashi toll nakas still don’t accept Fastag. However, on this weekend’s holiday trip, it worked at both Khalapur on the Expressway (₹203 till Lonavala) and at Kusgaon on NH48 (₹41). Driving through these toll booths without halting was a real pleasure. Hope this adoption continues and the days of having toll booths come to an end.