From December 1, only the extreme left lane at the 48 toll plazas under the control of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) will accept cash.
All other lanes will be available only for vehicles with FASTags, that use radio frequency. “According to a 2014 notification, vehicles without the tags would have to pay double the amount due,” said Pavan Kumar, Regional Officer, NHAI.
Tie-up with banks
The authority has tied up with several banks that have opened point of sale counters at all toll plazas to sell FASTag cards that are affixed on the windscreens of vehicles. They can also be procured online. Motorists need to have some balance in the cards from which the toll fee would be automatically deducted at the plazas. The cards can be operated on pre-paid and postpaid modes. At present, trial is on at 35 plazas for vehicles with tags.
However, motorists don't seem to evince interest in getting the cards. Less than 30% of vehicles have tags at present.
