FASTag: All you need to know about procuring & using it!

[mpksuhas]

There been lots of discussion about Fastag procurement and usage. Hence thought will put across a detailed description about the same.

Procurement process

• Download PDF application form from Fastag ICICI website and fill the same.
• Affix 1 passport size photo, vehicle RC copy, driving license copy.
• Attach supporting document for address proof. If address mentioned in application form is same as that in driving license, seperate document is not required
• Cheque in favor of ICICI ETC account for Rs 510
• Submit the documents at ICICI bank which handles Fastag at your city or to any toll booth listed as point of sale. Link
• Once documents are submitted, it takes roughly a week for getting the tag.
• It is NOT required to have an account at ICICI bank for availing Fastag.
• An option to submit the details online is available, however many have mentioned it not working. Hence it is best to download and hand over the documents.

Activation process

• Once your cheque is debitted and paperwork done, you will start getting update SMS'es to mobile number listed in application form.
• You will be alloted an account number, Fastag account number and Fastag number.
• Use the account number and create a login at Fastag website.
• You can view your vehicle details here.

Fixing the tag

As per guideline, bank representative is supposed to fix the tag on vehicle. This is to avoid misuse of tags meant for one vehicle by another. Do note that toll rates differ for each type of vehicle, hence if someone fix a tag meant for LMH on HMV they will be able to fool the system.

However, few members have had issue with tags and it was required to replace the same. Due to this, if possible try fix the tag temporarily on windshield in such a way that you are able to move the location of change the tag if required.

The tag comes with glue on one side to be fixed on windshield.

Front side of tag with glue



Backside of tag




On receiving the tag, I did a trial run by fixing the tag temporarily using adhesive tape. Once I confirmed that it was working, decided to paste it behind IRVM in a way it won't obstruct view.



I felt the newly issues tag is almost square in shape, earlier tags I had seen were more longer.

While pasting the tag, make sure you are not pasting it close to factory fitted RFID in your vehicle. TBHPian Bejoy had mentioned facing issues in tag detection since his Fastag was pasted close to factory RFID.



Tag weblink

You can recharge and view your account details by logging in to your Fastag login.

This page will display list of your travel and balance amount in your account.





Tag operation at toll booth

Many have faced issues with tag reading at toll booth.
TBHPian itwasntme has given a detailed diagram of toll booth layout here, uploading pic from the same for reference.



In short, RFID Transceiver #2 is what does the transaction. However, the system is not always as fast as one would want to be. On top of that, the transceiver location is not always constant.

Some toll booths have it located few meters ahead of boom barrier, while some has it next to boom barrier.

In pic below, you can notice the transceiver located next to the booth on right side.




A close up view of transceiver




In booths where transceiver is located well ahead of the booth, there is a good chance that your tag may not be read since you would have crossed the same before it was able to detect the tag.

In this case, you will have to reverse the car, which may not be feasible in case there are vehicle behind you.

To avoid the same, drive till the transceiver and wait for it to read the tag. In my case, couple of toll booths took around 4-5 seconds to read the tag. Since toll booth attendant is helpless if tag is not read you may end up paying by cash.
Once tag is read and authenticated, boom barrier will open along with green light being displayed next to it.

Also, do not tailgate the car ahead of you to the toll booth. The receiver may read your tag and let the car ahead pass.


You will receive an SMS from your account mentioning about the debit, just like the ones you receive during any debit card transactions.

Some of the toll booths, though listed as active are yet to have proper transceiver installed. They are having a handheld scanner with which they scan the tag and let you through. Many including myself haven't had the account debited though the manual scan was done.


Is it worth it?

Though the system was launched in many toll booths around Bangalore by end of 2015, I was reluctant for purchasing the tag since there was no dedicated lane for the same. However, decided to go for the purchase since few booths have started having dedicated lanes for Fastag where no other vehicles are allowed. Also, you don't need to carry change for each toll on your way. Over the weekend, I did Bangalore - Chennai - Bangalore trip with complete Fastag payments.

Mod Note: Adding Parag's useful post from 8th December 2016:

Originally Posted by paragsachania

My visit to BETL Office today for FASTag

• There are 2 Helpdesks - One for ICICI FASTag and other for BETL RFID
  
• As you all know, ICICI FASTag works for all NHAI Toll plazas along with BETL
  
• BETL RFID works only on BETL toll plazas, Bangalore

ICICI FASTag:

• One needs to fill the application form and pay by CASH only
  
• Documents required are : Photo, Address Proof, ID Proof, RC Copy, Completely filled form
  
• Minimum amount: 500 - One time installation fees (Misc) + Tag + 100 INR Balance
  
• Turnaround time for get FASTag - Instant

The Bad news: Their server is still not working and he was sitting on at least 20 applications on his desk!

BETL RFID:

• Cash and Card - Both are accepted (No cheques)
  
• Documents: Application form, RC Copy (No need of address proof also)
  
• Turnaround time to get RFID - Instant
  
• Fees: 150 INR for the RFID and 1000/- Balance - Total 1150/-

The better news: Their system is working flawlessly and I paid by card and got the Tag pasted on the windscreen

Even though in 2 minds, I decided to get the BETL tag mainly because I didn't want to pay by card every morning and as we all know, there is a serious "cash" crunch

Verdict:

The ICICI FASTag servers are still down even today, its almost a week now. So those thinking to visit this office hoping to get FASTag, please visit only after calling them on the number Fusionbang has mentioned earlier (Imdad - 70320 67833).

Additionally, you can also reach out to his manager on 98867 45679.

Adding NPV's useful post from 23rd Jan, 2018:

Originally Posted by NPV

Procuring and linking additional tag(s) to an existing tag account - ICICI Tags only

Received the tag this evening, sharing the entire experience with timeline, hope it helps others.

11 Jan ->I wasn't in a hurry to get the tag, so looked up the website, and decided to try the SMS option:
ITOLL(Space)PIN Code(Space)Name to 5676766

Sent the SMS and 30 minutes later, Received a SMS response that an executive will call within 2 working days.

12 Jan ->Phone call from ICICI Fastag department (Bommanahalli, Bangalore branch). The lady mentioned that if I'm in a hurry to get the tag, I can visit the branch, if not an executive will get in touch with me by Tuesday next week (Monday was a state government holiday).

16 Jan ->Phone call from ICICI Fastag executive. I explained that I already have an account (Customer ID) and a Fastag for the Dzire is linked to it and I was looking to get a tag now for the Wagon R. The executive mentioned that since this was the case, they would need fewer documents, payment can be transferred online via NEFT and documents could be sent via WhatsApp (this was a surprise for me!). He also mentioned that he will deliver the tag at my office by Friday the following week.

Within the next 5 minutes I received a message from the executive with these details:

1. Documents Required
   • Vehicle RC Copy
   • Any 1 KYC Document (Driving License/Passport/Voter ID/Aadhaar Card)
   • 1 Passport Size Photo
2. Payment Details
   • Rs.600 by NEFT (Joining Fee 200 + Refundable Deposit 200 + Minimum upload/tag Balance 200)
   • Online NEFT Payment
     • Beneficiary Name : ICICI ETC POOL
     • Account Number : 0103SLELTCPC
     • IFSC Code : ICIC0000103
     • Account Type : Current
     • Branch : RPC MUMBAI

Since I already had an existing Fastag account, only document I had to send was the Vehicle RC Copy, nothing else

16 Jan ->Transferred Rs.600 by NEFT from an ICICI account. But, here are couple things to keep in mind:
Though the beneficiary is an ICICI account, when adding the payee, you have to select "Other bank account", not "Another ICICI account" !

IMPS will NOT work, use NEFT only!

17 Jan ->Received an SMS saying Fastag account #xyz has been activated
Logged in to my ICICI Fastag Account and I could see that under the Customer ID a new tag account has been added and the balance was showing up as Rs.600

18 Jan ->Received an SMS saying Tag #abc has been assigned to Fastag account #xyz
Logged in to my ICICI Fastag Account and I could see that the new tag account's balance was now Rs.205.3 and the Activity History showed that Tag issuance fee was Rs.194.70 (Fee Rs.165 + GST Rs.29.70) and tag refundable deposit was Rs.200

19 Jan ->Received a call from a Fastag executive (not the person I was dealing with) and he said he can deliver the tag at my office, but I will need to pay Rs.150 as "Delivery Charges". I wasn't informed about this earlier so asked him what the alterative was and he said it will be couriered. I was fine with this, so he said he will send it by DTDC courier.
Received a call later from the executive whom I was dealing with and he said he was unwell so he will deliver the tag the next day. I told him I'd asked his colleage to courier it over to me. Now he told me that the Delivery charge will be waived since he had not come over to collect the application and documents physically!

20 Jan ->Received a call from the executive if he can deliver the tag at my office. It was saturday and I wasn't at office, so he said he will have it couriered via DTDC. My past experience with DTDC wasn't good, so I asked him to send me the Tracking # for any follow ups

22 Jan ->Spoke to the executive again and he said the tag has been sent via DTDC, he was surprised I still hadn't received it. Asked him for the Tracking #, he said he will send it but no response

23 Jan ->Status Quo. Called the executive and he suggested I speak to the Team Leader and he shared his phone #.
Called the Team Leader and he said he will try to find out the status of the package and Tracking #.
The local DTDC outlet was walking distance from my home, so headed there and checked around 5:30pm and they said there was no package for me. But they asked for my contact number and promised to call if they receive a package for me from ICICI Fastag.

Around 6:30pm, I received the Tracking # by SMS from the Team Lead. When I checked status online, status showed as "Successfully Delivered" and destination pincode was Whitefield!
Called him back and told him that the Tracking # is likely incorrect, so he said he will check and revert in an hour

7pm, the DTDC guy calls me saying he just received my package, so I walked up and collected it. Surpise - the Tracking # was the same that the Team Lead had sent me earlier.
The DTDC guys said that their hub is in Whitefield whcih is why destination pincode was Whitefield, but when I pointed out that status was "Successfully Delivered" on 22 Jan, he said it happens sometimes!

To give him the benefit of doubt, that could be the status of the delivery at their hub. However, I do not yet see an additional update saying it was delivered today to the customer (me).

Anyways, All's well that ends well - Took about 12 days to get the tag.

One more helpful post from NPV in September 2018:

Originally Posted by NPV

ICICI Fastag users can now find their tag balance by using one of these methods:

1. SMS "ETCBAL KA01AB1234" (replace "KA01AB1234" with your vehicle number) to 5676766

2. Give a missed call to 8010928888 from your registered Mobile Number (linked to ICICI FasTag account)

*Tried the SMS option today and works like a charm

**Tried the missed call option and that I think is a better option for those with more than one tag since it sends back an SMS with the balances of all linked ICICI FasTags

[procrj]

Travelled to Sakleshpur and FASTag worked on 9/10 instances.

Onward:

• Nelamangala BETL - Dedicated lane. Scanned but not deducted
• 1st Toll Doddakarenahalli toll - Dedicated lane closed, no scanner and hence had to pay
• 2nd Toll - Bellur Cross Toll Plaza - Scanned using handheld scanner but no payment deducted. Lane was open to other traffic
• 3rd Toll - Kadabhalli - Scanned & deducted. Lane was open to other traffic
• 4th Toll - Shantigrama - Scanned & deducted. Lane was open to other traffic

Return:

• 1st Toll - Shantigrama - Scanned & deducted. Lane was open to other traffic
• 2nd Toll - Kadabhalli - Scanned but not deducted. Lane was open to other traffic
• 3rd Toll - Bellur Cross Toll Plaza - No scanning - Car number was noted by operator & nothing was deducted. Was not asked to pay. Lane was open to other traffic
• 4th Toll Doddakarenahalli toll - No scanning - Car number was noted by operator & nothing was deducted. Was not asked to pay. Lane was open to other traffic
• Nelamangala BETL - Dedicated lane which was closed for other traffic & hence I was able to zip through even though other lanes had 10 cars waiting. Scanned but not deducted.

Hence I ended up paying only for 3(auto debit)+1(manual pay) tolls instead of 10.

[NPV]

It is indeed encouraging to see that FasTag is now mostly operational on NH 7 South (Bangalore-Salem), NH 47 (Salem-Coimbatore), NH 46 (Krishnagiri-Chennai), and NH 48 (Nelamangala-Hassan).

What is the status of FasTag on:
-NH 7 North beyond Devanahalli towards Hyderabad (Devanahalli has FasTag already)
-NH 4 South between Hoskote-Karnataka border beyond Mulbagal
-NH 4 North between Tumkur-Pune-Mumbai (Elevated tollway at Jalahalli has FasTag already)

EDIT:I just had a cashless FasTag trip to Chennai and back recently. Details here (Government launches 'FASTag' - Electronic Toll Collection)

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by NPV

-NH 4 North between Tumkur-Pune-Mumbai (Elevated tollway at Jalahalli has FasTag already)

• 2 of the 4 booths between Kolhapur - Pune functional
• In Karnataka, NBTL has FastTag and that was closed early morning when we drove to Ratnagiri 3 weeks before
• Of the booth between JAS toll (Nelamangala) to KA-MH Border at Kognoli, it worked at 2 booths for arunjosie's car(Edit- 11 Booths in KA section of NH4 starting from JAS)

Also, great to know that its almost fully functional on Chennai and Kaniyakumari Highways. Much needed where weekends (especially Krishnagiri and Attibele) are worse in this sector.

[manickaraj]

Traveled to Bangalore - Chennai (via Bagalur road - Hosur) and return journey. All toll booths were detecting the Fastag. But its not as fast as it should be. There are few issues observed

- At Krishnagiri the toll attendant used a hand held device and no SMS on trip activity logged
- Ordinary hours the lane is guarded and opened on-demand only. Sometimes person has to come from the booth nearby area.
- The detector positioned differently in every booth. Mostly on the right hand side. So if you paste the tag in the middle of windshield sometimes asked to come right most part of the road. Asked to do reverse in few occasion.
- Peek time all the vehicles allowed in Fastag lane in almost all booths.
- Even at the guarded gates other vehicles block that path way and you have wait behind them.

As of now the only benefit I am seeing is no cash and no paper transaction and in fact the 2016-17 cashback on the toll prices.

[vivek95]

Originally Posted by paragsachania

[list][*]2 of the 4 booths between Kolhapur - Pune functional
.

On BNG-Pune-Mum corridor, add both toll booths ( Urse-Talegaon and Khalapur ) of Pune--Mumbai Expressway which have functional ETCs since more than an year.

There's an entirely new toll booth coming up at Khed Shivapur,Pune. May be they are going to raze the existing one at the same location, could be the reason why ETC is still not working here ?

On Mumbai--Vapi ( NH8 ) sector, fastag at one toll is functional - Khaniwade toll, not so sure of Charoti toll.

[sachinpk]

Today had to do multiple trips on the Elevated Highway at Bangalore.
Pros: The first time it deducted Rs.40 as the toll, but during the return trip it just took Rs.20 (and not Rs.40). So it is same as the Rs.60 toll ticket, which has multiple entry validity. Though I could not test by going another trip. Ideally it should not deduct any money for the 3rd and subsequent trips till mid night today .
Cons: On the trip towards the city, FastTag lane was occupied by vehicles (including a TNSTC bus). Do not think all of them had FasTags. The position of the sensors are a bit confusing. So what I generally do is to just occupy the FasTag lane and keep a safe distance (6-7 mts) from the vehicle ahead. Only after that vehicle clears the boom barrier, I take my vehicle forward. At the elevated highway toll booth (Veerasandra side), I had to stop the vehicle next to the boom barrier, and in mill-seconds the reading was done. The signal turned green, and the boom barrier went up. Exited the booth in around a minute's time.

[Tejas@perioimpl]

So a weird thing happened yesterday.

On the mumbai pune expressway a friends fortuner was in front of me and i was in my pajero.

The expressway though has a dedicated etc lane, it's not dedicated and anyone can use it.

So when my friend comes to the boom, it opens and he still stops and asks the toll operator to take money. Operator says, tag accepted, you move on. This confuses my friend and he laughs and goes along.

My car is next and it shows as tag invalid. I argue with the operator saying it's not possible and your scanner is faulty. He says it accepted the car in front. Argued for a while and paid cash and moved on.

On reaching the venue during a general discussion my friend told me how the boom opened for him when he did not have a tag. That is when i put 2 & 2 together. Apparently the scanner read my tag and opened it for him.

I received the sms of money deduction after 6 hours.

Planning to now write to them.

On return journey, i kept a one car distance from the vehicle in front of me and passed the toll uneventfully.

[sdp1975]

Originally Posted by Tejas@perioimpl

On return journey, i kept a one car distance from the vehicle in front of me and passed the toll uneventfully.

I was a toll gate near Salem over the long weekend and there were many vehicles in all the lanes.

The staff were asking vehicles at the FASTag lane to stop till the vehicle ahead cleared the boom completely. They probably had faced similar problems with vehicles too close to each other like you did.

In another case, the automated boom did not open for me at the Attibele toll gate - it had opened for the vehicle in front of me. I went back and forth and it then opened up , displayed not my number but a different one - probably that of the vehicle that last crossed the lane ! The system does it's share of glitches.

[vivek95]

Originally Posted by Tejas@perioimpl

So a weird thing happened yesterday.

On the mumbai pune expressway a friends fortuner was in front of me and i was in my pajero.

The expressway though has a dedicated etc lane, it's not dedicated and anyone can use it.

So when my friend comes to the boom, it opens and he still stops and asks the toll operator to take money. Operator says, tag accepted, you move on. This confuses my friend and he laughs and goes along.

My car is next and it shows as tag invalid. I argue with the operator saying it's not possible and your scanner is faulty. He says it accepted the car in front. Argued for a while and paid cash and moved on.

On reaching the venue during a general discussion my friend told me how the boom opened for him when he did not have a tag. That is when i put 2 & 2 together. Apparently the scanner read my tag and opened it for him.

I received the sms of money deduction after 6 hours.

Planning to now write to them.

On return journey, i kept a one car distance from the vehicle in front of me and passed the toll uneventfully.

That's sad to know. Hope the concerned people look into the matter and refund your money. By the way, I wanted to know how this thing works on Mumbai--Pune Expressway in particular. On Expressway, one has to pay at only one toll out of the two while travelling in either direction. With the Fastag enabled, what happens when you pass the second toll at the other end ? Does the scanner scan again or simply let you pass by opening the boom ? I mean obviously it shouldn't deduct the money twice, but wanted to know what the screen displays when you reach the second toll. How does this stuff work here ?

[NPV]

Originally Posted by NPV

Did not receive SMS for Krishnagiri on both journeys and Attibele on return

Received an SMS for Attibele toll after more than 36 hours
So, the only ones I haven't received are for Krishnagiri toll.

[Tejas@perioimpl]

Originally Posted by vivek95

That's sad to know. Hope the concerned people look into the matter and refund your money. By the way, I wanted to know how this thing works on Mumbai--Pune Expressway in particular. On Expressway, one has to pay at only one toll out of the two while travelling in either direction. With the Fastag enabled, what happens when you pass the second toll at the other end ? Does the scanner scan again or simply let you pass by opening the boom ? I mean obviously it shouldn't deduct the money twice, but wanted to know what the screen displays when you reach the second toll. How does this stuff work here ?

I haven't gone all the way till pune in this vehicle to figure it out. I guess at the second toll it just cuts the balance.


I have a separate tag for the sea link. When you go one way, it cuts Rs.60. If you cross the toll on return on the same day, it cuts only Rs.30 (because a return journey is Rs.90. one way Rs.60).

[ameyawaghmare]

@Vivek95, at the first toll 117/- get deducted. That is also the lowest toll on Mumbai Pune Expressway no matter which exit you take. Depending on your exit toll, it will further deduct money.
So, if you are going till Pune, 117/- gets deducted at first toll, another 78/- get deducted at second toll.

I finally had my first Fastag use recently on the Mumbai Pune Expressway when I got to experience this.

[vivek95]

Originally Posted by ameyawaghmare

@Vivek95, at the first toll 117/- get deducted. That is also the lowest toll on Mumbai Pune Expressway no matter which exit you take. Depending on your exit toll, it will further deduct money.
So, if you are going till Pune, 117/- gets deducted at first toll, another 78/- get deducted at second toll.

I finally had my first Fastag use recently on the Mumbai Pune Expressway when I got to experience this.

Thank you. This should be another advantage of having RFID tag especially for Pune--Mumbai Expressway. Else, normally we would need to tell the toll operator to issue the receipt based on our destination i. e for Lonavala (117) or Mumbai(195). And if it so happens that one pays for a full journey till Mumbai i. e 195 bucks at Urse-Talegaon toll and wants to head back to Pune midway due to sudden change in plan / emergency, the amount we end up paying for tolls will be higher by 70-80 bucks. This problem will completely get solved if one's car is Fastag enabled because it will deduct the lowest amount at first toll no matter what your intermediate destination is, as anyhow the balance amount gets deducted at the Khalapur toll in case you are driving all the way till Mumbai. I am speaking this from my personal experience in 2013 when we had to drive back to Pune midway after paying till Mumbai. It was 165/- I guess back then for Mumbai. I know it's an extremely rare case that one would have a sudden change in plan while already halfway through on Expressway. Anyways, it seems having Fastag helps in such cases too.

[kiran_cr]

Did a Bangalore-Vellore-Bangalore round trip on Saturday. BETL and Attibele moved through FASTag lane no surprises. Krishnagiri Toll was so crowded and FASTag lane is on the right side and hence couldn't get into it. So paid cash and moved on. No problems at Vaniyambadi and Pallikonda.

During return leg, no problems at Vaniyambadi and Pallikonda. At Krishnagiri, the tag was manually scanned, so no money debited till now. At Attibele and BETL too didn't have any problem.

Now comes the surprising part, I came home and logged into my FASTag account. For Vaniyambadi and Pallikonda I was charged full amount even though my return trip was in the same day. Later came to know that it was maintained by L&T. Even though i passed through Attibele FASTag lane, there is no debit yet. Since the tag was manually scanned in Krishnagiri, there is no debit yet. At BETL i was charged Rs 20 during return journey in-line with same day return charges.

The best part is I haven't received SMS till now for any of the debits, it has been well over 48 hours since my trip.