[suku_patel_22]

What would be the process to migrate FASTag from ICICI to Paytm?

PayTM fastag is much more convenient to manage the balance.

[dailydriver]

Originally Posted by suku_patel_22

What would be the process to migrate FASTag from ICICI to Paytm?

PayTM fastag is much more convenient to manage the balance.

Migration of FasTag accounts isn't possible; not yet. You will have to surrender the ICICI tag and get your security deposit refunded. You can apply for a fresh tag from any of the other service providers that may appear better to you.

However, if you read through the thread, you will find that none of the tag providers are doing a six sigma job . Most of them are as good or bad as the others. So, you wouldn't perhaps be gaining much in terms of service by ditching ICICI in favour of Paytm. But if recharging the former is proving to be a hassle, you can surely get a new tag from Paytm.

[NPV]

Originally Posted by suku_patel_22

PayTM fastag is much more convenient to manage the balance.

Originally Posted by dailydriver

Most of them are as good or bad as the others. So, you wouldn't perhaps be gaining much in terms of service by ditching ICICI in favour of Paytm.

I don't think it is worth the trouble to close out one tag (ICICI) to get another from PayTm.
With ICICI you can now find out the tag balance by sending a SMS or giving a missed call (see my previous post on this thread or the opening post where it has been appended). You can also charge the tag using UPI without having to login to the ICICI fastag portal (look for earlier posts I think Hemanth.Anand and others had posted how to).

[a4anurag]

All Toll Lanes To Get FASTags Over Next Four Months: Nitin Gadkari

Road Transport and Highways Minister (MoRTH) Nitin Gadkari announced that all toll lanes in India will get FASTags over the next four months. The announcement was made at the 2018 SIAM Annual convention in Delhi in presence of automakers and the media.

The move will help de-congest traffic at toll plazas saving precious time and fuel for consumers. The decision for all toll lanes to be RFID FASTags compliant will be applicable across the 462 toll plazas in the country.

SOURCE

[hemanth.anand]

Originally Posted by a4anurag

All Toll Lanes To Get FASTags Over Next Four Months: Nitin Gadkari



SOURCE

They should make 1 cash-only lane and all others fastag-only lanes. Only then more and more people will use Fastag. I've already seen many people driving new cars with Fastag but not recharging and pay only cash. If they make all lanes Fastag capable but allow everyone, it won't help IMO

[longhorn]

Originally Posted by hemanth.anand

They should make 1 cash-only lane and all others fastag-only lanes. Only then more and more people will use Fastag. I've already seen many people driving new cars with Fastag but not recharging and pay only cash. If they make all lanes Fastag capable but allow everyone, it won't help IMO

The government should actually make sure the ecosystem is in place and fully functional, but almost always they take the easy way out and force people to buy something they have no use for, and then provide shoddy service. There is no reason to force people to lock up 300 bucks on a FastTag unless they use tolled roads regularly. For vehicles that spend 90% of their life within the city, its an absolute waste of money.

I don't see much merit in FasTag in its current form where lorries go forth and back on the FasTag lane, to have the tag detected. That is not the way it is supposed to work. People should be able to drive through WITHOUT stopping. Until then FasTag is just a replacement for change, nothing more, nothing less. First ensure the ecosystem is in place and working properly. When people see merit in it, they will start using it on their own, without compulsion.

[hillsnrains]

Originally Posted by hemanth.anand

They should make 1 cash-only lane and all others fastag-only lanes....
If they make all lanes Fastag capable but allow everyone, it won't help IMO

+1
Recently I have done a trip on Bangalore-Pune highway. Fastag implementation has been horrible. At some toll booths all lanes are fastag enabled, but closed the earlier dedicated fastag lane. Vehicles with tags are forced to wait behind the guys who pay cash. These smart guys defeated the whole purpose of fastag.

For god's sake they should have separate fastag and cash lanes. Just installing RFID scanners at all lanes doesn't solve the issue, they should implement with some common sense

[DigitalOne]

I also feel there is no incentive for the toll-operating employees (as distinct from the toll-operating companies) to make Fastag work smoother. In fact, there is a perverse incentive not to make it work because their jobs are directly on the line. So I think this whole problem will remain unless the government thinks from an incentive angle.

[NPV]

Recent experience at Devanahalli (Hyderabad side) toll - morning drive towards Devanahalli and return same day:
-Onwards, stuck to the right most Fastag lane, booth was manned by an attendant and he came out with a handheld scanner and pressed some keys on it (but did not even point it towards the tag), then he waved us on. Few minutes later I received a SMS for Rs.85 being deducted.

-Return, stuck to right most Fastag lane. This one has 2 boom barriers, both were open and the lights near them were green even before we entered. There was a security guard with a plastic cone to block the lane, he moved the cone once I pointed towards the tag on the windshield. This booth wasn't manned and just had to drive right through. No SMS yet, I'm still not sure how this toll works for Fastag when the barriers are kept open like this time.

[audioholic]

Originally Posted by NPV

I'm still not sure how this toll works for Fastag when the barriers are kept open like this time.

Usually the return side was well organised for Fastag, since it had a spillover lane in case the balance was low or tag was blacklisted. I guess the boom barrier was not functioning hence they opened it up permanently. It has happened to me in Hoskote toll booth in the mornings when there is quite a few vehicles in line for Fastag and then they would have opened the gates permanently. However, I was charged all the times except once. Their assumption is that if you have a tag then you would be having balance, since if you dont, the tag will get blacklisted and wont work until you recharge it and the pending dues are compensated for.

[NPV]

Originally Posted by NPV

No SMS yet, I'm still not sure how this toll works for Fastag when the barriers are kept open like this time.

I received the SMS after a few hours and deduction was Rs.45 which is correct as it was same day charge (85+45=130)

Originally Posted by audioholic

Usually the return side was well organised for Fastag, since it had a spillover lane in case the balance was low or tag was blacklisted. I guess the boom barrier was not functioning hence they opened it up permanently.

My question was more on how do the 2 boom barriers work and where are the tag readers ? I thought there are 2 readers near each of the barriers and that's the reason there is a light beside each ? On an earlier drive in my friend's car, we had to struggle by backing up the car few times to get the first reader to scan and let us in. But the second one refused to open though sufficient balance was there on the tag and we had to take the spillover/exit to go to the next lane where the attendant said tag has been scanned!
This time I wasn't too slow so wondering which reader scanned the tag since previous experience was a struggle even with very low speed.

It's these inconsistent experiences that made me wonder how it works

[audioholic]

Originally Posted by NPV

My question was more on how do the 2 boom barriers work and where are the tag readers ? I thought there are 2 readers near each of the barriers and that's the reason there is a light beside each ? On an earlier drive in my friend's car, we had to struggle by backing up the car few times to get the first reader to scan and let us in. But the second one refused to open though sufficient balance was there on the tag and we had to take the spillover/exit to go to the next lane where the attendant said tag has been scanned!
This time I wasn't too slow so wondering which reader scanned the tag since previous experience was a struggle even with very low speed.

The first barrier detects a valid tag and lets you in. Second one opens if you have sufficient balance and if not, the second signal will point towards the direction of the lane. If it was all green before you even reached the toll, then like I told, there will be some fault due to which they would have opened up the lane and a guard would have let you in as soon as he saw the tag. Typically the two barrier setup is quick and reliable too. The reason it is quicker is because the authentication is two step and can happen by the time you pass from one gate to another.

As it is, the airport toll is never a reliable one. Both my cars have had free passages so many times that I recovered more than what I had paid for fastag just in this single toll booth

[jailbird_fynix]

We did a Kochi - Pondicherry trip recently.We were so stoked that our ride had a fast-tag account and that we were going to save time at all the highway tolls.Halfway through the trip we realized that we were actually wasting more time queing up at the fast tag toll lanes.Eventually we decided to just join the shortest queue at the tolls like we always usually do despite having a fast-tag account.Some of the things that we noticed that could've already been mentioned earlier in this thread -

- Vehicles with the fast-tag lane sticker but no money in the account.They get into the fast-tag lane by showing the sticker on the windshield,and conveniently pay toll cash at the booth.

- VIP vehicles without tags being let into the fast-tag lane( heard they're calling for a VIP-only lane at tolls)

- People still unaware of what fast-tag is Fighting with the poor guy at the fast lane entrance who let the previous car through but not him.We have to first wait for them to finish fighting and then for him to move his car to another lane before we can get in.

- At a toll,they charged us the 2-way fees even after asking for 1-way ticket only.The SMS indicating deduction came after a good 1 hour drive from this toll. (trolled)

It seems that Fast-tag has yet a long way to go before it can be truly appreciated.

[manjubp]

Last one month, I had couple of trips on NH. One Bangalore-Hospet, Mantralaya-Bangalore and last on Bangalore-Tiruttani-Bangalore.

Except Bangalore-Chitraduraga, almost all places my FastTag worked without any issues. At every toll, I saved 3-5 minutes, best was at krishnagiri toll both towards Bangalore, easily saved 15 minutes.

Between Bangalore-Chitradurga, not even RFID readers able to read my FastTag reader, and at every toll someone has to come near to car windshield with scanner. It was first trip with new FastTag reader.

I would strongly recommend FastTag, based on my last 2-3 years of experience.

Completely agree with @longhorn that "There is no reason to force people to lock up 300 bucks on a FastTag unless they use tolled roads regularly. For vehicles that spend 90% of their life within the city, its an absolute waste of money"

Just like most of the western countries, there should be option to pay the toll, within end of next day once one crosses the toll. Track the vehicles with RFID, not nameplate.

[hyd_traveller]

Originally Posted by jailbird_fynix

At a toll,they charged us the 2-way fees even after asking for 1-way ticket only.The SMS indicating deduction came after a good 1 hour drive from this toll.

I could not understand.
How can you ask for 1-way or 2-way ticket with FasTag?
FasTag automatically debits you for a 1-way ticket during an outbound trip and automatically debits only the balance on the return trip making it a 2-way ticket.