Business News: Indian Govt Launches Rs 3000 FASTag Yearly Plan for Private Vehicles, Know Details

Business News: The Government of India has implemented a new FASTag annual pass for private vehicles such as cars, jeeps, and vans, priced at Rs 3,000, effective August 17. This pass allows for up to 200 toll transactions at toll plazas managed by the National Highways Authority of India. The pass is good for one year or until the 200 toll transactions have been completed, whichever comes first. On average, this reduces the toll cost of each transaction to around Rs 15. Unlike previous choices that were limited to monthly recharges, this pass aims to provide long-term convenience to habitual highway commuters, particularly in metropolitan areas such as Delhi, Mumbai, and Secunderabad.

New FASTag Pass

Each toll booth passed is counted as a separate trip; thus, if a vehicle passes through seven toll plazas on its way to a destination and then returns the same way, it counts as 14 journeys. The benefit of this pass increases in locations with more spaced-out toll booths, as distance does not affect trip count. However, this pass is only valid at NHAI-operated toll plazas and does not apply to motorways such as the Yamuna Expressway or Agra-Lucknow Expressway. FASTag is an RFID-based electronic toll collection system that is linked to a bank account or wallet, allowing tolls to be deducted automatically, saving both time and fuel. While this arrangement provides significant savings for frequent individual vehicle users, commercial vehicles such as buses and trucks are still subject to regular toll rates.