In FASTag system, it takes 47 seconds per vehicle to cross fee plaza: Gadkari

Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari, while speaking in the Rajya Sabha, informed that with the implementation of the FASTag system, the time taken by one vehicle to cross a fee plaza has come down to 47 seconds only. He added that the fee transaction processing time has reduced by 56 per cent at fee plazas.

This is enabling a fee plaza operator to process 148 additional vehicles per hour per lane, translating to 130 per cent increase in productivity compared to manual fee collection system, before the introduction of FASTag. The minister also informed that the FASTag collection in the current fiscal till March 24 stood at ₹32,451 crore.

FASTag was implemented by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) across all national highways from February 15 last year. Since then, toll collection through FASTag has been growing exponentially. The implementation of the system is said to have significantly reduced the waiting time on national highways and increased transparency as well. NHAI had earlier said that the FASTag system is helping it mop up more than ₹100 crore every day.

In a separate written reply to the Lok Sabha, the minister also informed that as many as 23,868 people were killed in road accidents in which impacting vehicles were trucks or lorries in 2018, while the total number of accidents involving trucks or lorries stood at 57,441. He added that various steps have been taken in the interest of drivers including truck drivers such as wayside amenities, food court, truck parking bays etc. on National Highways.

Notably, Gadkari arrived at the Parliament on Wednesday in a hydrogen-powered car, aiming to send a message for the adoption of renewable and green energy amid a surge in petrol and diesel prices.

(with inputs from agencies)