Barrier-free toll collection system to be operational by February-March: Nitin Gadkari

New Delhi: The barrier-free ‘multi-lane free flow’ system, which will enable toll collection without vehicles having to stop at toll plazas, will be operational across the country by February-March next year, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari said. Officials have been instructed to complete 60-70% of the work on the project by December, the minister said.

The system collects tolls as vehicles pass at normal speed through special overhead gantries installed across the road. Gadkari said the first such system had already been inaugurated at Mundka-Bakkarwala in Delhi. The system will save both fuel and time by eliminating waiting at toll plazas.

The government is expected to save Rs 6,000-7,000 crore annually by reducing the operating cost of toll plazas from 12-15% to 2-4%, Gadkari said. He added that FASTag had brought significant changes to travel time and toll collection, and that the fully barrier-free tolling system would be the next step in the process.