CHENNAI: Cashless transactions do oil the wheels of the economy better if you have fancy four wheels to drive on the Golden Quad. After a hiatus of 25 days since Nov. 8, highway toll collection resumed at Friday midnight, and things went much smoother as most toll plazas have been equipped with card swipe machines allowing people to use their debit, credit or valet cards.
While vehicles did back up a bit, the queues were not much longer than what you saw on a typical day prior to November 8, most of the motorists contacted by New Indian Express said. The machines worked and the staff seemed trained. It also helped that at some toll plazas, the old Rs 500 notes were accepted is the toll to be paid was higher than Rs 200.
In a few toll plazas, the National Highways Authority of India [NHAI] is promoting Radio Frequency Identification [RFID] tag readers. At the Pallikonda toll plaza on the Chennai-Bengaluru highway, one toll gate was allocated for vehicles with RFID tag installed. The facility has been available for about a year. A vendor put up a sales outlet to sell RFID tags to motorists at this plaza itself.
While toll collection resumed, some motorists pulled up at the gates and declared that they didn’t have a card or any cash. The politely let them go rather than risk a gridlock on the highway.
The RFID tags are fixed on the windscreen of the vehicle to give easy access to the toll clerk. Motorists opting to have RFID tags have to submit an application with their PAN, furnish any two identity proof documents and a copy of the vehicle registration certificate to open an account.
The tag works like a digital wallet. The user deposits some money which gets debited each time his vehicle crosses a toll plaza.
Motorists can opt for payment through other mobile wallets too, NHAI officials said.