Toll collection through FASTag at the Pampampallam, Ponnarimangalam, Paliyekkara and Kumbalam toll plazas in the State under the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) is only 41% despite efforts to popularise the prepaid tags among motorists.
Reluctance on the part of motorists to switch over to the automatic toll payment system has come in for surprise as vehicles without FASTags are charged twice the normal rate at these toll gates. Also, those returning within 24 hours have to pay only one-and-a-half times the toll for two-way journey if the payment is via FASTag. A reason cited by motorists is that they are not frequent travellers in these routes.
The exemptions granted by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways to the Paliyekkara toll plaza in Thrissur and the Kumbalam toll plaza in Ernakulam will end on March 14.
“We are expecting 75% compliance in the next two months,” a top NHAI official told The Hindu .
Invalid tags due to failure to activate them, blacklisted tags due to lack of money in the bank account and ignorance among motorists on how to fix the tags are cited as the other reasons for the low compliance level.
Mandatory
Although FASTag has been made mandatory for both private and commercial four-wheelers since December 2017, during inspections authorities check only if the tag is pasted and not if they are activated. A vehicle with an inactivated tag gets blacklisted once it enters the toll plaza and leads to traffic snarls. FASTags are also blacklisted if the linked bank account/prepaid wallet does not have enough balance.
Only the customer care wing of the bank in which the account is maintained can help solve the issue. Removal of the blacklisted tag is time consuming. Erring vehicles are allowed to move along the toll plaza after collecting the toll in cash.
Varying rates
Though the FASTag costs only ₹25, different banks charge different rates for issuing the tag, as refundable security deposit and for first recharge, creating hurdles in the switch to the tag.
An activated FASTtag works on the Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology, sources said. The tag should be fixed on the windscreen on the back of the rear view mirror.
