GPS Toll System: Toll Will Now Be Deducted Through GPS. If you also think that the hassle of tolls is a problem, good news is here. The government has changed how people can get around. The GPS will now take out the toll. The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has approved the satellite-based toll collection method. So we will not use Fastag anymore? Why do you need the current Fastag? We are going to answer all of these here.
There is a new notice from the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. which means that India will now collect tolls using GPS, which is a system based on satellites. The cars will already have On Board Units (OBU), Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS), and Global Positioning System (GPS) built in for this purpose.
GPS Toll System: What is going to happen to Fastag?
Fastag will go on. At this point, tolls will also still be taken out using Fastag and Automatic Number Recognition Technology (ANPR).
Get around for free up to 20 km With the new rules, there will be no fee to go or come up to 20 km. There will be a separate lane for cars with GNSS and OBU. That means you will not have to wait longer at the toll. Vehicles equipped with GNSS and OBU devices will only have to pay for the road miles they have driven. The old way of collecting tolls will be used for vehicles that are not registered in India and do not have GNSS devices installed.
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Technology Used | Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) |
| Current Systems | FASTag, Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) |
| Toll Calculation | Based on distance traveled |
| Initial Toll-Free Distance | 20 kilometers |
| Equipment Required | On-Board Units (OBUs) or tracking devices |
| Payment Method | Automatic deduction from linked account |
| Implementation | Initially on key highways and expressways |
| Benefits | Reduced congestion, efficient toll collection, no need for toll plazas |
| Special Lanes | Designated lanes for GNSS-equipped vehicles |
| Transition | Operates alongside existing FASTag system |
| Penalties | Vehicles without functioning GNSS device in designated lanes pay double fee |
What means “automatic toll”?
This new method will use satellite technology to collect tolls. Vehicles will have On Board Units (OBU) and Global Positioning Systems (GPS) installed that will keep track of them. Their plan is to send this data to the satellite. In other words, the satellite will be measuring how far the car has gone at that point. Tools with GPS and GNSS will help with this.
Also, cameras set up on the highway will prove where the vehicle is. This will make it possible to double-check how far the car has gone. For this journey, you will have to pay. In fact, the new method was put in place to make the highway traffic flow better. At the moment, drivers have to wait at the toll booth for a while before they can pay.
Plus, this makes traffic jams at toll booths, which wastes drivers’ time. Tolls will now be based on how far the car traveled, thanks to GPS systems. Some big highways and expressways will be the first to use this new system.
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Advantages of Using a GPS-Based Toll System
Some good things about using a GPS-based toll system are:
- Toll plazas will no longer exist, so cars will not have to stop at them.
- Fewer traffic jams on the roads, which means fewer traffic jams on the streets
- Since the GPS will always be able to track the cars, they will be safer and more secure.
- If someone steals a car, the owner can easily find out where it is thanks to GPS tracking.
- Problems the government ran into while putting in place a GPS-based toll system
Challenges in implementing a GPS-based toll system:
When the government tries to set up a GPS-based toll system, it runs into its own problems. Here is a list of some of them:
- Using a GPS-based toll collection method will take the toll amount directly from the user’s savings account instead of the payment wallet like FASTag does. This will cause more major cyber crimes to happen.
- People who are traveling within 5 km of toll booths can use FASTag for free.
- For now, though, it is not clear how much the GPS-based toll system will charge.
What is the Difference Between FASTag and GPS-Based Toll Collection?
To automatically take out toll tax, FASTag uses Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology. To use this tag, all you have to do is put it on the window of your car. You also need to connect your FASTag to your bank account or prepaid card so that the toll amount is taken out automatically. Because the NHAI works with banks and online payment systems, it can give FASTags to its users both online and offline. At all toll booths, FASTag readers can find them and take away the toll tax. So, when you are on a toll road and get close to a toll machine, you do not have to stop for a long time.
However, GPS-based toll collection will be different from FASTag because it will keep track of you the whole time. It will keep an eye on the moving vehicles and use GPS images to collect the toll. In FASTags, automatic subtraction only happens when you get close to the toll booth. Some people think that the NHAI might use FASTags with GPS to collect toll taxes.
| FASTag | GPS Based Toll Collection |
|---|---|
| Use of RFID Technology | Use of GPS system in vehicles |
| Automatic Deduction through FASTag scanner at toll booths | Deduction through tracking of GPS coordinates |
| Detected only when the vehicles approach a toll booth | Entire travel route to be tracked |
| Toll booths need to be stationed | This will lead to the removal of all physical toll booths and toll plazas |
| Mandatory and in practice since February 2021 | to take place around 2022 as the government has planned. |
