No toll up to 20 km on highways: How new satellite-based toll system works

Under new rules, private vehicles with GNSS can travel up to 20 km daily for free on select highways; a fee will be applied beyond 20 km

Owners of private vehicles with Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) can travel up to 20 kilometres daily for free on select highways and expressways, according to new rules for toll collection issued by the Centre. This plan is yet to be implemented.

On Tuesday, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways revised the National Highways Fee (Determination of Rates and Collection) Rules, 2008. Under the new regulations, called the National Highways Fee (Determination of Rates and Collection) Amendment Rules, 2024, fees will be charged for the distance beyond 20 kilometres.

"A driver, owner or person in charge of a mechanical vehicle other than a national permit vehicle who makes use of the same section of the national highway, permanent bridge, bypass or tunnel, as the case may be, shall be levied a zero-user fee up to 20 kilometres of a journey in each direction in a day under Global Navigation Satellite System-based user fee collection system," the notification said.

Trial completed on NH-275 and NH-709

Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari on Wednesday said that a pilot study on the GNSS-based toll collection system was concluded on the Bengaluru-Mysore section of NH-275 in Karnataka and the Panipat-Hisar section of NH-709 in Haryana.

In a written reply to the Rajya Sabha, he said that initially, the GNSS-based system would be applied on select national highways on a pilot basis as an added facility along with Fastag. Fastag, operated by the National Highway Authority of India, is an electronic toll collection system that uses Radio Frequency Identification technology to make toll payments.

How does GNSS-based toll collection work?

With GNSS-based tolling, fees will be charged based on distance travelled, following a pay-as-you-use system. The transport ministry, in a post on X (formerly Twitter), said on Wednesday that initially, this system would be applied on an exclusive lane on fee plazas for vehicles fitted with the GNSS system.

GNSS works by using a network of satellites to determine precise locations on Earth. In the toll collection process, satellites are used to track a vehicle's movement and calculate tolls based on the distance. This move is expected to increase the efficiency of tolling operations by eliminating the need for waiting in queues at toll plazas.

The highway lanes dedicated to GNSS-fitted vehicles will have advanced readers for identification. Non-GNSS vehicles entering GNSS lanes will face a penalty. Payments under this system will be done similarly to the existing Fastag ecosystem, linking directly to bank accounts.