One Vehicle, One FASTag norm goes live: What you need to know

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has implemented the ‘One Vehicle, One FASTag’ norm across the country with effect from April 1, 2024. The new norm mandates a single FASTag for one vehicle, barring linking multiple vehicles to a single FASTag or vice versa. NHAI had set the compliance date for the new rule to April 1, while vehicle owners had until March 31, 2024, to update their FASTag details.

The compliance deadline was extended till the end of March following issues faced by PayTM FASTag users. Under the new norm, multiple FASTags won’t work for a single vehicle. The new regulation is being brought into effect to make the electronic toll collection system more efficient and for seamless movement of vehicles at toll plazas on access-controlled roads.

FASTag has a penetration rate of about 98 per cent and over 8 crore users at present. The new technology uses Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology to make toll payments directly from the prepaid or savings account of the vehicle owner to the toll owner.

FASTag has been revolutionary in reducing vehicle pileups at toll plazas and the government has been working on implementing a GPS-based toll collection system as the next step in this direction, ensuring fewer stops.