The end is over, the test phase is
over. Now it is time to go live.
On
October31, 2014 Shri Nitin Gadkari, India’s Highway Minister will inaugurate
the Electronic Toll Collection system
Due to unavoidable issues, the
launch was postponed from October 27 to October 31.
"The launching of the Electronic Toll
Collection (ETC) system has been rescheduled. The Union Minister of Road
Transport & Highways, Shri Nitin Gadkari will now inaugurate the system on
October 31 instead of October 27," an official statement said.
The pilot project for Interoperable
ETC system of 10 toll plazas between Mumbai (Charoti) and Ahmedabad was
successful and seamless ETC on this section is successfully in operation.
The live roll-out is planned completed
on the Delhi-Mumbai route via Haryana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and
Maharashtra.
ETC has already been installed at 55
Toll Plazas and their integration with Central Clearing House (CCH) operators
has almost been completed.
The central government has issued orders to
incorporate ETC lanes as a mandatory clause in the contracts awarded for all
the highways projects in future.
"Action will be taken to include ETC
system by means of supplementary agreement in those projects which have not yet
been started," the statement said.
Necessary amendments have already been made
in the Central Motor Vehicle Rules, 1989 for fitment of Radio Frequency
Identification tag on vehicles for ETC.
In order to remove the bottlenecks and
ensure seamless movement of traffic and collection of toll as per the notified
rates, Government had constituted a committee on Electronic Toll Collection technology
for use on National Highways under the chairmanship of Shri Nandan Nilekani, Ex-Chairman,
Unique Identification Authority of India.
The Committee's mandate was to examine all
technologies available for ETC and recommend the most suitable technology for
local conditions. Considering user convenience, rate of acceptance and ease of
implementation, the passive Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) based on EPC,
Gen-2, ISO 18000-6C Standards for ETC technology was adopted by the Government.
Once the Toll Plaza is migrated to ECT
mode, it will have a dedicated lane for RFID fitted vehicles. A fine will be levied on Non-RFID vehicles
entering the dedicated lane. This fine is expected to discourage non-RFID
vehicles to migrate to RFID mode quickly.
The IHMCL core message is: “Experience the
freedom of near non-stop movement through toll plazas and the convenience of
cashless payment of toll with our nation-wide interoperable Electronic Toll
Collection Services”.
