NEW DELHI: The annual FASTag pass rolled out on August 15 has received overwhelming response from users, particularly from two southern states. Within four days of its launch, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has sold over five lakh pass yearly tickets including 1.5 lakh in Tamil Nadu and about one lakh in Karnataka. With nearly one lakh pass buyers, Haryana, presently, has the third highest number of annual pass holders.
“Providing commuters with convenient and efficient tolling experience, the newly introduced FASTag Annual Pass facility has crossed the landmark figure of five lakh users across the country. Tamil Nadu led the most number of Annual Pass purchased over the last four days, followed by the states of Karnataka and Haryana,” said officials.
Also, maximum transactions through FASTag Annual Pass at the toll plazas were recorded in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.
Introduction of annual pass arrangement has also increased the number of Rajmarg Yatra mobile application users. One can purchase the pass through the app. “It has reached rank #23 in Google’s Playstore ranking overall and #2 in travel category with over 15 lakh downloads and has a rating of 4.5 stars. The app has also achieved a milestone to become top government app within four days of launch of FASTag Annual Pass,” official added.
The FASTag Annual Pass facility is valid for about 1,150 toll plazas on National Highways and National Expressways.
On the first of its launch, nearly 1.4 lakh users purchased annual FASTag passes on August 15 and around 1.39 lakh transactions were recorded on toll plazas on the same day.
National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) officials have been appointed as nodal officers at each toll plaza to ensure a smooth travel experience for the pass users. Also, to address the grievances of pass users, 1033 National Highway Helpline has been further strengthened with the addition of over 100 executives.
Providing a seamless and economical travel option to the National Highway users, the FASTag Annual Pass eliminates the need to frequently recharge FASTag through one-time fee payment of Rs 3,000 for one year validity or 200 toll plaza crossings. The FASTag Annual Pass is applicable for all non-commercial vehicles with a valid FASTag and gets activated within two hours of the one-time fee payment through Rajmarg Yatra App or NHAI website.
With a penetration rate of around 98 percent and over 8 crore users, FASTag has revolutionised the Electronic Toll Collection system in the country.
In a transformative step towards hassle-free highway travel, union road transport and highways minister Nitin Gadkari in June announced the introduction of annual FASTag pass for non-commercial private vehicles such as cars, jeeps and vans from August 15.
The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) is entrusted with maintenance, and management of the National Highways (NHs) of about 70,000 km length of the total network of 1,50,000 km. Additionally, NHAI is mandated to collect user fees (tolls) on these highways in accordance with the National Highway Fee (Determination of Rates and Collection) Rules, 2008.
At present, user fee is collected for approximately 45,000 km of NHs and Expressways. There are about 1,200 toll plazas, which are maintained by either the NHAI or concessionaires.
Since February 2021, FASTag has been made mandatory for the payment of user fees at NH toll plazas, with a provision for a 100 per cent penalty for cash or non-FASTag payments. As of March 2024, more than 98 per cent of user fee payments are made through FASTag at the toll Plazas.