FASTag to boost Safe riding in India

          Today’s Post is inspired by Shri Narendra Modi’s Mann ki Baat Tweet @ Cashless treatment for victims of road accidents.

          The first part of this program will be unveiled in Gurgaon, Jaipur and Vadodara and then to Mumbai, Ranchi, Rungaon and Maurya national highways.

          The broad outlines have been mentioned by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The same is as under:   Cashless treatment will be given to accident victims, wherein the victim does not have to worry for the first 50 hours as to who pays the money for treatment, will also be launched soon.

          Today at ‘Toll Plaza at KM.37/800 of NH-4, near Sriperumbudur’, the FASTag ‘Interoperable Electronic Toll Collection (ETC) system’, on Chennai-Bangalore Corridor of Golden Quadrilateral has been launched.

          The FASTAG was first launched in April 2012 on the 10-km Himalayan Expressway and Shri Nitin  Gadkari inaugurated the ETC on the Delhi-Mumbai stretch of NH-8 in November 2014.

          The aim of FASTAG is to ensure ‘Cashless’, collection of toll on major 350 toll plazas on Indian  national highways.

The contours of FASTAG are as under:

v  FASTAG is brand name of  Electronic Toll Collection (ETC) program in India.

v  Brand names of similar tags in other countries are known by different names like “Eazee Pass”, “SunPass” in the US, “e-Pass” in Australia, “Salik” in Dubai etc.

v  Under ETC, payment of highway tolls moves from physical mode to the electronic mode.

v  The respective vehicles having FASTAG can zip through the highway tolls gates.

v  The unique number of the RFID Tag affixed on the wind shield of the vehicle will be read by the readers fitted in the dedicated “ETC” lanes of plazas.

v  The appropriate amount as per the class of vehicle will be automatically deducted from the account of the user.

v  The dedicated ETC lanes will have colour coding for distinct identity recognized as “FASTag lanes”.  

v  The float money in the FASTAGs would be held by ICICI Bank and Axis bank as they are providing Central Clearing House (CCH) services.

v  ICICI Bank and Axis Bank will distribute the RFID based “FASTag” through their franchises/agents and at points of sales near the toll plazas.

v  Road users can enrol and get “FASTag” affixed on their vehicles at designated toll plaza locations or Point of Sale (POS) stations of Axis bank and ICICI bank. 

11 ways through FASTAG can advance Safe Riding in India:-

1)     Introduce KYC (Know your customers) norms to Indian vehicle owners.

2)    Alert vehicle owners on their vehicle movement through SMSs’ to their registered mobile numbers.

3)    Reduce fuel wastage due to long waiting times at the toll gates.

4)    Introduce Safe eTransactions channels to FASTAG users.

5)    Boost eTransactions in India.

6)    Introduce the concept of real time data on traffic movement on highways to government officials, to prepare road development plans.

7)    Plug revenues leakages at toll gates.

8)    Introduce ‘moneyback’, concept amongst Highway travellers.

9)    Track vehicles in case of criminal incidences.

10)  Introduce differential pricing i.e penalty of two-times toll from vehicles that enter tag lanes without FASTAG. This is necessary to ensure that vehicles fitted with tags don't get caught behind non-tag vehicles.

11)  Enhanced revenue from advertisements banners at FASTAG toll lanes.

Read ICICI Bank FAQs on FASTAG here

Read Axis Bank FAQs on FASTAG now