Giridhar Aramanesaid: “The government is working on a pilot project for GPS-based tolls. Once the system is implemented nationwide, toll booths will no longer be required.”
After Union Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari announced today to Lok Sabha that the Global Positioning System (GPS) -based toll collection on national highways will replace physical toll booths within a year, the Transport Minister said that a pilot project is currently under investigation of the system is carried out.
The results of the pilot project will be announced shortly and the project will be expanded accordingly.
Giridhar Aramane, Secretary of the Ministry of Roads and Highways, explained the pilot project for the GPS-based toll collection: “The government is working on a pilot project for the GPS-based toll. Once the system is implemented nationwide, no toll booths will be required.”
Also read: No toll booths on motorways! Government launches GPS-based toll system
“The pilot project is being carried out on the Mumbai-Delhi national road. The pilot project has equipped 500 vehicles with GPS for satellite-based tolling. The pilot project is expected to be completed within a year. It will then be expanded to the national motorway network,” added Aramane added.
Aramane said the government will also introduce a policy for installing GPS devices in all vehicles. However, he did not provide a schedule for retrofitting existing vehicles or the mandatory adjustment of GPS during manufacture, as the ministry is initially waiting for the results of the pilot project.
With immediate effect, all commercial vehicles sold after 2019 will be equipped with a GPS-based vehicle tracking system.
Aside from relieving the highways, the GPS-based system will deduct the toll based on the highway route a vehicle was using at the time of travel, rather than the current flat rate system, regardless of the distance traveled.
Also read: Government announces voluntary scrapping program for vehicles, Gadkari applies for GST discount
