Mumbai:
The country's first interoperable RIFD-based electronic toll system was on Friday rolled out on the Ahmedabad-Mumbai National Highway. The system will allow vehicles fitted with electronic tags to sail through six toll plazas automatically.
"C P Joshi, the Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways dedicated to the nation today, the first interoperable Radio Frequency Identification Device (RFID) technology based Electronic Tolling System at Charoti Toll Plaza, Dahanu in Thane District, Maharashtra," an official statement said.
The interoperable RIFD based system would allow vehicles to sail through six toll plazas, operated by three different road developers Larsen and Toubro (L&T), IRB Infrastructure and NHAI, the statement said.
These include IRB toll plazas at Charoti, Bhagwada, Boriach and Choriyasi besides NHAI plaza at Narmada Bridge and L&T IDPL Plaza at Karjan, Vadodara, it added.
To make the toll collection process at the National Highways (NH) easier and more transparent, Mr Joshi had announced to roll out RFID-based electronic toll collection across all the toll plazas on national highways throughout the country by 2014.
The pilot project for this has already been launched on Chandigarh-Parwanoo on NH-5.
Electronic Toll Collection is a system enabling collection of toll payments electronically allowing for near-nonstop toll collection and traffic monitoring.
Under the system, a RFID chip-embedded sticker is put on the vehicles allowing deduction of money at toll plazas automatically.
Currently, vehicles plying on Indian highways have to pay cash at all the toll plazas to pass through.
The statement said RIFD tags will be available at the Kiosks located at all the Toll Plazas at Mumbai-Vadodara stretch besides would be available online at the ICICI Bank's website.
"It will work as a pre-paid toll account and there will be automatic toll deduction when the vehicle crossed Toll Plazas. The initial cost of the tag has been kept at Rs 150 and the minimum amount to be deposited for a car is Rs 200.