[SJM1214]

Soon, you won’t have to stop at NH plazas to pay toll.

Commuters will soon have multiple options of paying user charges on national highways, including through their mobile phones linked to prepaid wallets, credit cards or bank accounts.

This will ensure automatic deduction of the toll amount from their bank accounts to allow seamless travel through toll plazas and provide an option to those either not using smart tags (FASTags) or not recharging them.

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has selected five innovations which are being tested on five stretches, including Delhi-Mumbai, Delhi-Chandigarh, Delhi-Kolkata and Bengaluru-Chennai, sources said. In the next few months, NHAI will unveil a mobile application which will have all these options.

NHAI officials said commuters will need to download the mobile app and provide all vehicle details, which will be verified from Vahan (national vehicle database) to authenticate the owner and validity of registration. “One option is to make upfront payment for all toll plazas on the way before starting any journey from a prepaid wallet through the app. Before the vehicle reaches a toll plaza, the system will generate a QR code which the driver will have to scan at the plaza to cross it,” said an official

The other option will be for commuters to link the mobile app with the unified payment interface (UPI) to pay the toll amount directly from their bank accounts. Two technologies being tested — mobile-based Wi-Fi/Bluetooth and mobile-based ultrasound technologies — can be used to make such a payment. “As soon as the vehicle reaches the toll plaza, the system will identify the toll lane, vehicle category and the exact toll amount will be deducted from the wallet or the bank account through the UPI gateway,” said an NHAI official.

News Source : https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...w/63837834.cms

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

So what happens to Fastag?

Why reinvent the wheel with apps and stuff when Fastag is already established? Or are these new 'innovations' going to be implemented on top of Fastag?

[mpksuhas]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Why reinvent the wheel with apps and stuff when Fastag is already established? Or are these new 'innovations' going to be implemented on top of Fastag?

When a good idea gets stuck due to poor implementation, what would you do?

A) Iron out issues in implementation, make those responsible for shoddy job accountable, market the idea and make sure people are available of its advantages.

B) Go behind another idea, even though the implementation part is done by the same people who were reason for first idea not to succeed.



NHAI feels option 'B' is logical.

[SJM1214]

Two days back, I went to renew my NHAI monthly pass at Vasad Toll Plaza( Vadodara- A"bad NH48). They renewed my pass and told me that April is the last month of this pass. They added that after April, NHAI is going to launch some new scheme for the regular commuters and locals. I never liked the idea of FASTtag. Its good to have some more options/methods to pay these toll taxes.

[libranof1987]

They don't need innovations; all the technology exists, and at very easy execution. The problem lies in implementation. And lack of discipline. And lack of monitoring.

Rarely are there manned toll-booths or those where you need to slow down in the US. There are camera+sensors atop the highway on every lane that capture the license plate and get data from the tag and bill directly to your account. All this while you're traveling at 80 km/hr. If the vehicle doesn't have a tag, the toll amount is displayed on the toll booth operator's website where you can pay.

So far, we've tried RFID, Fastag, highway-specific tags and yet, it hasn't made commuting exactly easy. We've way too many ideas, let's focus on making implementation jugaad-proof.

[amitk26]

Originally Posted by mpksuhas

When a good idea gets stuck due to poor implementation,

The real Achilles heel for FastTag was poor quality of RFID readers installed by toll operators and at few places poor network connectivity.
Due to low volumes of FastTag users at some places toll operators were relying on cheaper handheld scanners instead of dedicated lane and
once near to Nagpur I faced the problem because the batteries of handheld reader were depleted .

With QR or UPI based payment the RFID reader problem could be solved.

[srishiva]

Well, I like the paying in advance as one of the options. Enter the destination and it knows how much you should pay. I know same could be implemented to pre pay on fast tag. If they could create a QR code which you use on your mobile phone to wave in front of a sensor, you could atleast be a little faster than paying cash.

With automatic option not working, the gates could stay closed and you could then drive to a manual window. Needs a little re-planning the whole toll booth infrastructure though.

[am1m]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Why reinvent the wheel with apps and stuff when Fastag is already established?

Originally Posted by mpksuhas

When a good idea gets stuck due to poor implementation, what would you do?

Originally Posted by libranof1987

The problem lies in implementation. We've way too many ideas, let's focus on making implementation jugaad-proof.

You guys have stated it exactly. This happens all the time in the real world sadly, even in the private sector- I've lost count of how many process changes I've seen at the companies I've worked at, and each time a new top management blockhead comes in, so does a new process which is promptly ditched once he moves on to 'better things' (or gets fired). This is what happens when projects are driven by the person running the project and not end-user driven.

Every time a new idea comes up, it's an opportunity for the people in charge to hog the limelight, grab news inches, build careers, make money. Government or private sector, it's the same story.

If the same effort was put into making existing systems work, it would be far better. But that commonsense view, which will benefit the actual users, seldom prevails because there is less in it personally for the egocentric idiots in charge.

[pareshraheja]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

So what happens to Fastag?

Why reinvent the wheel with apps and stuff when Fastag is already established? Or are these new 'innovations' going to be implemented on top of Fastag?

The article in todays TOI newspaper says, Fastag will continue to co-exist. That's kinda confusing. Firstly why have another system in place when already one is present.

Secondly I wonder how the two systems will co-exist.

[VKumar]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

So what happens to Fastag?

Since Fastag comes with a 'no waiting' promise, that is nearly never fulfilled as there is either a long queue or a slow computer.

Hence

They have decided to empty the Fastag lanes using different methods, this is the unique way of Government of fulfilling their promises.

[john.gt]

The heading says "you won’t have to stop at NH plazas to pay toll"
and the content says "Before the vehicle reaches a toll plaza, the system will generate a QR code which the driver will have to scan at the plaza to cross it"

After reading the news, it seems like someone read a sc-fi novel before sleeping and woke up having a weird dream.
With a simple technology of RFID, toll plaza's are finding it difficult to manage. Imagine detecting phones with Wifi or bluetooth in moving vehicles and then opening the toll gate. Wishful thinking, I'd say.
As many have said above, without self discipline, this is going to be an epic fail.

[GrammarNazi]

Operating a phone (to generate QR codes) while approaching toll plaza isn't feasible. Then again at the toll booth if people have to stop and juggle their phone to scan the code, they'd rather use a time tested invention called CASH.

It'd be madness if they stop accepting cash at toll booths. We're all for curbing corruption, but putting people through hardships by experimenting various kinds of techniques, shows there's a lack of knowledge on how to plan things. The present central govt has had a history of poor implementation.

[mayuresh]

On one hand infrastructure, implementation could be issues. On the other hand there is behavior problem with public at large. They just don't want to change until mandated (and mandates draw a lot of flak, but that will be off topic).

I know many people, who are regular payers at toll plazas and still prefer paying in cash. Same goes with many of the transporters. It's poor driver's time after all, why bother, right?

This is becoming similar to one of those questions - why don't (at least educated) people use digital payments (at least) where they are accepted?

[simplyself]

Why is cash suddenly seen as infra dig? Why shouldn't one pay cash?

A card swipe takes same time as cash. Just because one has balance in debit and credit card isn't an avenue to look down upon the cash payers.

Ses these neo Indians might demand a puncture wallah or a pav bhaaji wallah to sport a POS to pay their debits

Cash is King.

That's why banks ran out of cash on hackneyed policies.

[arun_josie]

Originally Posted by SJM1214

Soon, you won’t have to stop at NH plazas to pay toll.

NHAI is good in bringing such juicy headlines, and everything stops there. Three years back Fastag was hyped with similar headlines and we all know where it has landed. At the end of the day, whatever the technology is, we will have to spend some time at these tolls.