Published on 27th August 2026
A Local Pass is meant for repeated
journeys. Can the journeys also be visible in the MIS?
Nayakanti Prashant
3rd Gen Banker & Citizen Lobbyist – Bengaluru
Dear NHAI Tech Team,
At the outset hearty congrats for sharing a wide range of MIS on
the vehicle’s movement on our country’s highways @ https://ihmcl.co.in/etc-transaction-reports/
The Starting Point
A Local Pass is meant for people who regularly use a
particular toll plaza.
It is a very practical idea:
Pay once. Travel repeatedly.
The National Highways ecosystem already makes a substantial
amount of ETC information publicly available through MIS reports.
But while looking through the published reports, one small
question came to mind:
We can see the toll transactions. Can we also see
how many journeys are being made through Local Passes?
Not the identity of the vehicle.
Not individual journeys.
Just aggregate Local Pass trips.
That could add another useful layer to the public picture of
highway usage.
The Prospective Audience
This could matter to:
A daily commuter in Alwar.
A student travelling regularly between Mysuru and home.
A small-business owner in Siliguri.
A highway user in Anand.
A researcher studying mobility patterns from Durgapur.
A journalist in Nanded.
A family making frequent journeys around Madurai.
Different roads.
Different reasons for travelling.
One common question:
How much of the traffic is actually travelling
through Local Passes?
Act I — The Missing Slice
The MIS already tells us a lot.
Perhaps Local Pass Trips could become one more visible
slice of that picture.
The pass is visible.
Could its usage be visible too? Nothing More – Nothing Less
Act II — A Pass Is Not a Trip
A Local Pass tells us that a vehicle has access to repeated
travel through a particular toll plaza.
But the pass itself doesn't tell us how much it is being
used.
Consider a simple public MIS:
Local Passes Issued
↓
Local Pass Trips
↓
Toll Plaza
↓
Month
The exact format, definitions and reporting methodology can
remain with the relevant authorities.
The citizen observation is much simpler:
Could the number of Local Pass trips be published
as an aggregate?
Act III — One More Layer of
Visibility
The existing ETC reports already provide a useful picture of
highway transactions.
Adding Local Pass trips could help distinguish between:
overall ETC activity
and
repeated local usage through the Local Pass
facility.
That could make the public data more meaningful for:
Mobility → Planning
→ Research
→ Public
understanding
No individual vehicle details.
No personal information.
No individual journey tracking.
Just the aggregate number of journeys.
A small addition to an existing MIS could create a new
window into how highways are actually being used.
Act IV — Let the Journeys Count
A Local Pass is created for repeated use.
So perhaps the public MIS could show not only how many
passes exist, but also how many trips they enable.
For example:
Local Pass
→ Passes
issued
→ Trips
made
→ Toll
plaza
→ Month
The numbers could help reveal patterns of local mobility
without revealing any individual vehicle or traveller.
The intention is not to prescribe a new reporting
architecture.
It is simply to ask:
Could Local Pass Trips become another visible part
of the existing ETC MIS?
The First Line on the Whiteboard
The Local Pass is visible. Let the
journeys made through it be visible too.
A Citizen Observation
From Alwar to Anand.
From Siliguri to Nanded.
From Mysuru to Madurai.
Thousands of people may make the same short highway journey
again and again.
The Local Pass recognises that pattern.
Could the public MIS recognise it too?
Not who travelled.
Not where an individual travelled.
Just:
How many Local Pass trips happened?
A small number.
A useful number.
A number that could help us understand the everyday movement
taking place on India's highways.
Closing Thought
The toll transaction tells us that a payment happened.
The Local Pass tells us that repeated travel was expected.
The trip count could tell us how much that facility was
actually used.
Pass → Trip → Pattern →
Understanding
Perhaps better highway statistics do not need more personal
data.
They may simply need one more useful number.
April 11 — Digital Transactions Day
A highway journey may be physical.
But the payment journey is digital.
Pass → Travel → Pay → Record → Learn
Perhaps the better digital journey is not merely one that
completes the payment.
It is one where the right aggregate story can also
be understood.
The Joy of Digital Transactions.
Disclaimer
This Citizen Observation is based on publicly available
ETC/MIS information and is intended as a citizen observation.
It does not seek individual vehicle, traveller or
transaction-level information.
The suggested Local Pass Trips MIS is illustrative.
Definitions, data treatment, methodology and publication
format would naturally remain matters for the relevant institutions and domain
experts.
The Joy of Digital Transactions
Nayakanti Prashant
3rd Gen Banker & Citizen Lobbyist – Bengaluru
Advocating Digital Transactions Day (April 11)
Author’s Blogs
https://prashantrandomthoughts.blogspot.com
https://prashantnepayments.blogspot.com
https://innovationinbanking.blogspot.com
