FASTag Revolution: Toll Collections On National Highways Skyrocket To Rs 150 Crore Per Day

New Delhi, 30th July 2023: The toll collections on national highways have witnessed significant improvement, reaching Rs 150 crore per day during the first three months of this financial year. This amount is notably higher than the daily average of approximately Rs 130 crore recorded in the first quarter of 2022-23.

Data presented in Lok Sabha last week and analyzed by News18, reveals that the average monthly toll collection through FASTags in the initial quarter of 2023 amounted to Rs 4,406 crore. This represents an increase compared to the previous quarter (January-March 2023), which saw an average monthly collection of Rs 4,083 crore, and also surpasses the first quarter of 2022’s collection of Rs 3,841 crore.

Union transport minister Nitin Gadkari informed the House that user fee collection from heavy commercial vehicles had been the highest following the implementation of FASTag. As of June 30, 2023, there are 898 toll plazas on national highways, where the user fee is levied by the National Highways Fee (Determination of Rates and Collection) Rules, 2008.

Ministry data indicates that toll collection on national highways across India has tripled between 2015-16 and 2022-23. During the fiscal year 2022-23, the toll plaza user fee collection on national highways reached an impressive Rs 48,028.22 crore, marking a substantial growth compared to the Rs 17,759.12 crore recorded in 2015-16.

The growth in toll collection can be attributed to various factors. First, the migration from manual toll collection to electronic tolling through FASTag has significantly contributed to improved user fee collection. Second, the increase in user fee collection can be attributed to traffic growth, revisions in user fee rates, and the addition of new tollable road length.

Gadkari highlighted that compliance with toll collection has improved substantially with the declaration of all lanes of toll plazas on national highways as FASTag-enabled. As of now, 97.6 per cent of fee collection is done through FASTag.

Furthermore, during the last financial year, 112 new toll plazas were introduced, and the gradual conversion of cash lanes to FASTag lanes played a vital role in facilitating this growth. From February 2021, all lanes of toll plazas were enabled with FASTag.

Gadkari also revealed that there were more than 200 toll plazas within a 60 km range in the country as of June 30. According to the provision of sub-rule (2) of Rule 8 of the National Highways Fee (Determination of Rates and Collection) Rules, 2008, fee plazas can be established within this range. The minister emphasized that there are no plans to halt the collection of user fees at toll plazas on national highways. As per the rates specified in the National Highways Fee (Determination of Rates and Collection) Rules, 2008, the collection of user fees will persist.