Toll Collection System: The government will now install GNSS-based toll collection system with Fastag on some national highways. Road and Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari recently told the Rajya Sabha that this new system is being implemented as a pilot project on the Bengaluru-Mysore highway of NH-275 in Karnataka and the Panipat-Hisar-route of NH-709 in Haryana.
Now the biggest advantage of this satellite based toll tax service is that it will make traveling on national highways easier. Passengers will not have to stop at the toll tax at present and the tax will be deducted automatically. Currently, the Fastag system works on Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tag, which automatically collects toll when the toll is collected. However, the GNSS based tolling system will have a virtual toll. That is, it will not be visible where the toll is and there will be no stopping.
In addition to the existing FASTag facility, the Central Government has introduced a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) based Electronic Toll Collection (ETC) system on a pilot basis initially on specific sections of National Highways.
How will the GNSS system work? The virtual guarantee for toll collection will be installed in the satellite system, which will be connected to the GNSS enabled vehicle and if a car passes through the virtual toll, the specified amount will be deducted from the user's account. This type of service is being provided in many countries of the world. This includes Russia and Germany.