Introduction of cashless transaction system at toll plazas from the midnight of December 2 has led to frequent piling up of vehicles at the plazas, particularly during peak hours.
There are a total of 42 toll plazas in the State under the control of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI).
Motorists say it takes at least three to four minutes for the plaza attendants to complete each transaction on the hand-held machines as they have to enter the vehicle number, trip details and then present the point of sale machine to the customer to key in the pin number.
Anna Nagar resident K. Suresh Kumar, who travelled to Karaikudi on Sunday, said of the four toll plazas he crossed on the Chennai-Tiruchi highway, he paid through only at one plaza.
“I refused to give my card to the toll attendants as they have kept the point of sale machines inside. With all the phishing happening, it is not safe. I got change for Rs. 2,000 only at one plaza. It took us 15-20 minutes to cross each plaza. I shudder to think how it would be at rush hour,” he said.
On Saturday evening, chaos reigned at the Sholavaram plaza. “Not everyone has credit/debit cards. Just imagine the amount of fuel and time spent at toll plazas. The government has to take a call and should instead promote FASTags so that vehicles can drive through,” said a motorist.
“People in queue kept honking as they lost patience. At some plazas, the staff reverted to the old system of cash collection to clear the pile up of vehicles and adopted the new system only when the vehicle flow was less,” said an official.
Travelling was smoother for those who had opted for the FASTag facility as they went past the toll plaza quickly.
On Rajiv Gandhi Salai too, boards have been placed at the toll plazas stating that old Rs. 500 notes would be accepted if the minimum fee was more than Rs. 200. There too, long lines of vehicles were seen despite the day being a Sunday.
Sources in NHAI said that all toll plazas had been provided with POS, Paytm, smart cards and FASTag options.
