From Tuesday, motorists using Rajiv Gandhi Salai will have to pay higher usage fees at the toll plazas, with the Tamil Nadu Road Development Company (TNRDC) hiking toll rates.
Sources in TNRDC said that car users who were paying Rs. 38 for a return journey would have to pay Rs. 40 from July 1. Similarly, buses will have to shell out Rs. 110 instead of Rs. 100, trucks Rs. 160 instead of Rs. 140 and multi-axle vehicles Rs. 320 instead of Rs. 290.
The 10 per cent hike in toll rates is brought into force every two years based on a 2005 Government Order. Over one lakh vehicles use the road on a daily basis, with 50,000 paying toll. Like local residents, two-wheeler riders, too, are exempted from paying toll.
R. Anandan, president of the Rajiv Gandhi Salai All Lorry Owners Welfare Association, termed the hike as unfair as lorry owners were already finding it difficult to pay their dues and run their business due to the hike in diesel prices.
S. Wilson, a resident of Perungudi, said the toll plazas only caused traffic jams during peak hours.
“Though the tolling began on December 15, 2008, the service lanes in places like Sholinganallur are still incomplete. Bus shelters are being installed at snail’s pace. It is high time that tolling is stopped since it is inside the city limits,” he said.
