NHAI transitions to 100% cashless toll through mandatory FASTags

The NHAI on Thursday said it has transitioned to 100 per cent cashless tolling at national highways with the government making FASTags mandatory.

"Following the guidelines for mandatory payment of user fee through FASTag at the toll plazas from the midnight of 15/16 February 2021, NHAI has successfully transitioned to 100 per cent cashless tolling at National Highways fee plazas across the country," NHAI said in a statement.

The rollout of 100 per cent cashless tolling has been positively received by highway users with a record sale of over 2.5 lakh tags in the last two days, it said.

With nearly 60 lakh transactions, the per day toll collection through FASTag crossed the highest ever mark of Rs 95 crore on February 17, 2021, the statement said.

"Currently, the total penetration of FASTag has reached around 87 per cent, an increase of 7 per cent penetration in just two days, with over 100 toll plazas achieving around 90 per cent penetration," the statement said.

To facilitate adoption of FASTag, NHAI has also decided to launch a Free FASTag' campaign till March 1, 2021, by waiving the tag cost of Rs 100 at over 770 toll plazas (including State Plazas) across the country.

For the convenience of highway users, new feature Check Balance Status' has been added in My FASTag App', National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) said.

"The My FASTag App will show FASTag wallet balance status in form of color codes i.e. Green for Active tag with sufficient balance, Orange/Amber for tags with low balance and Red for Blacklisted tags," the statement said.

In case of low balance (Orange Status), the vehicle users can instantly recharge using the mobile app or avail instant recharge facility at toll plaza Point of Sale (POS).

"Over 40,000 POSes for FASTag have been set up by various member banks and NHAI/IHMCL. Online sale of FASTag is also available on various e-commerce portals," it added.

IHMCL stands for Indian Highway Management Company Ltd.

The radio-frequency identification (RFID)-based FASTag is affixed on the windscreen of the vehicle. It allows direct payment of fee from the prepaid or savings account linked to it and enables vehicles to drive through without stopping for transactions.