The government on Wednesday informed Parliament that the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has decided to pilot GPS-based toll collection on the Bengaluru-Mysuru national highway in Karnataka and the technology will be rolled out ahead of the announcement of the Lok Sabha elections .
The center has appointed a consultant to provide advisory services on the implementation of new technologies such as accessibility charging based on the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS), the ministry said in the House of Federation.
“GNSS has the capability to retrieve the vehicle’s position on national highways and calculate user charges based on the distance traveled… It has been decided to conduct a pilot in Karnataka, including on the Bengaluru-Mysuru NH-275,” MoRTH informed the House in a written reply.
“No toll booth”
Minister Nitin Gadkari, speaking in the Upper House, said the government aims to roll out the technology before the Lok Sabha polls are announced.
“Soon, we will launch the satellite toll system before the Lok Sabha polls are announced. There will be no toll plazas and there will be no parking. A picture of the number plate will be clicked from where you enter the toll road and where you exit the toll road. The money will be automatically deducted from your bank account. Users will only pay for the distance they travel. Our aim is to launch the scheme before the code of conduct is introduced,” he said.
The term of the Lok Sabha ends in May and the country will hold elections around March-April.
How will the new system work?
Once implemented, charging will be done online via automatic number plate recognition cameras or a GPS device mounted on the car, which will read the vehicle’s location.
There will be a device at the entrance and exit of the toll road section that will read the location of the car. Therefore, drivers who do not use the entire stretch only pay for the distance they travel. It will particularly benefit riders using smaller sections of trail.
According to the ministry, the technology will be implemented nationwide based on the results of the pilot. There will be no more toll booths on the highways.
“Just like the shift from cash to FASTag, there will be another shift from FASTag to GPS. This may take months to years, but we hope this will benefit both users and departments.” One A MoRTH official told News18 on condition of anonymity.
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