Rajanbir Singh

rajanbir.singh@htlive.com

CHANDIGARH : Vehicles without a FASTag sticker will have to pay double toll fee from December 1, Union ministry of road transport and highways has announced .

From December 1, all lanes, except the leftmost hybrid lane, at toll barriers will be FASTag-enabled and vehicles without the FASTag stickers will be charged double.

What is FASTag

FASTag is a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) passive tag used for making toll payments directly from the customers’ prepaid or savings/current account. It is affixed on the windscreen of the vehicle and enables the customer to drive through toll plazas without stopping. The toll fare is directly deducted from the account of the customer and once paid, the vehicle can use the highway for 24 hours, so the concept of a one way or a two way ticket has been done away with. However, if adequate balance is not maintained by the customer, the FASTag gets blacklisted at the toll plaza.

Will decrease congestion

As per NHAI project director KL Sachdeva, FASTag will decrease the traffic congestion at the highway points. “Not only will the smooth process reduce vehicle emissions, it will reduce misuse of ID cards and cases of violence at toll booths.”

There are five toll plazas of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) near thetricity. Sachdeva said around 1,000 people a day were applying for FASTag accounts at the point-of-sale counters set up here.