The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has changed the old toll collection and introduced a new ‘Pay as per road quality’ rule. The rule has been implemented from today, February 15, across all major expressways like Delhi-Mumbai Expressway, Purvanchal Expressway and Yamuna Expressway.
What Is The Pay As Per Road Quality Rule?
Previously, travellers had to pay more than 1.25 to 1.5 times the toll compared to a regular highway. However, under the new policy:
If any section of the expressway is under repair or does not have a service road, the toll for that section will be reduced by up to 50 per cent.
Satellite-based tolling has been implemented on the expressways. This means that a traveller will no longer have to pay for the entire stretch, but only for the distance that he/she has travelled.
Toll rates for trucks and logistics vehicles have been reduced by a flat 10-15 per cent to reduce inflation.
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Other Changes In Toll Plazas from Feb 15
Toll rates, which are charged on a per-kilometre basis on the expressways has been reduced to match or even be lower than national highways. This move will help make road travel much more economical.
Physical toll booths will be replaced with a GPS-based system, which will directly deduct money from the digital wallets using FASTag.
Residents living within 20 kilometres of an expressway will get cheaper monthly passes, making daily travel more affordable for nearby commuters.
Major expressways like the Delhi-Meerut Expressway, Lucknow-Agra Expressway, Mumbai-Pune expressway and the Bundelkhand expressway which see a large volume of travellers.
The revised structure, which cuts toll fees and links charges directly to the distance travelled, is set to offer the greatest relief to regular commuters and freight operators using these heavily trafficked corridors.