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| The Patna-Bakhtiyarpur toll plaza at Didarganj in Patna City. Picture by Sachin |
Travelling on national highways would soon be smarter with waiting time at toll plazas expecting to come down drastically.
National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) would soon introduce smart card system for paying toll at the plazas — where long queues of vehicles are just natural phenomenon — along the stretches of recently constructed highways.
Those having the card would just have to swipe it instead of paying cash. The card system is being introduced on pilot basis on Patna-Bakhtiyarpur road from first week of January 2015.
It is for the first time that such an initiative has been taken by the NHAI in the state to offer relief to motorists. Anyone can get the card made at the toll plaza by making an initial payment, which would be decided later.
Requesting anonymity, a senior NHAI official said: “Smart card system would replace the practice of vehicles standing in queues and waiting for their turn to pay the money. The smart card system would be introduced on six toll plazas in phases.” After Patna-Bakhtiyarpur road, it would be put in place at four toll plazas on the Muzaffarpur-Purnea highway and the one between Muzaffarpur and Piprakothi in East Champaran district.
Apart from cutting down the time period, it will also help motorists save fuel, as they need not to keep their vehicles turn on in the process of paying the toll. The system would work on the basis of touch and go. It has already been introduced on many busy stretches, including the Gurgaon toll plaza on the Delhi-Jaipur highway.
The NHAI official added: “The system would reduce waiting time at the toll plaza and at the same time commuters need not to pay any cash apart from making a halt. It would be like non-stop travelling.”
The smart card would be on the pattern of a prepaid card in which the vehicle-owners need to refill the card as per requirement. The user can also refill the card through netbanking but for the first time, a certain amount has to be paid as deposit.
