The Indian government has proposed a move for private car owners who frequently use national highways and expressways. The government has proposed an annual toll pass with a one-time payment of ₹3,000 for unlimited use of national highways and expressways
Also, the proposal includes the introduction of a lifetime toll pass for 15 years with a one-time payment of ₹30,000. With this move, the Indian government aims to simplify toll collection and reduce congestion across the country. The new annual and lifetime toll passes, priced at ₹3,000 and ₹30,000, respectively, will be integrated with the existing FASTag system for unlimited national highway and expressway access.
Last month, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari said that the government is contemplating introducing monthly and yearly passes in lieu of toll collection for private vehicles on national highways as they account for only 26 per cent of total realisation. “74 per cent of toll revenue comes from commercial vehicles. We are considering introducing monthly or annual passes for private vehicles,” he stated. Now, the government has proposed annual and lifetime toll passes for private cars, TOI has reported.
Annual and lifetime toll pass: How will they work
The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) aims to provide an annual toll pass for private cars, which will cost the users ₹3,000 per year. The pass will be integrated into the existing FASTag account of the vehicle, allowing the user unlimited access to national highways and expressways. With this pass purchased, the user won’t be required to recharge his or her FASTag account frequently for the next one year. Once the pass’ validity is over, he or she can purchase another pass or recharge as per requirement.
The lifetime toll pass, too, works in a similar manner. The only difference in this case is the validity of this pass is for 15 years, and it costs ₹30,000. Like the annual pass, it will also be integrated into the user’s FASTag account.
Currently, private car users can purchase a monthly rechargeable pass for ₹340 each for 12 months total, costing ₹4,080 annually. However, this pass is applicable only to one toll plaza. Considering that an annual toll pass costing ₹3,000 for unlimited travel across the entire national highway network will be a much cheaper option than the monthly passes. Also, the new annual pass will not restrict the car owners to unlimited use of only one toll plaza.
Annual and lifetime toll pass: Rationale behind the move
According to the data released by the MoRTH, in the last financial year (FY2023-24), private cars generated about ₹8,000 crore of revenue, while a total of 55,000 crore toll receipts were generated across the country’s toll plaza network. While private cars comprised 53 per cent of total toll transactions, they constituted only 21 per cent of all toll receipts. Private cars account for almost 60 per cent of the traffic at toll lanes between 6 AM and 10 PM.
With the annual or lifetime toll passes, the government is expecting to see swifter toll plaza operations as well as reduced congestion. Also, this move is unlikely to impact the government’s revenue stream, considering the largest chunk of the toll collection comes from commercial vehicles.