Before FASTags were launched in 2014, highway tolls were only collected in cash or with cards more than ten years ago. FASTags, which are only required for every single automobile and toll booth starting in January 2021, expedited and improved the toll payment procedure. But, with a new satellite-based toll-collecting system, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari intends to render FASTags and even toll plazas entirely obsolete. This in-depth study will teach you more about this space-age apparatus and its operation.

What Is Toll Collection Based on GPS?

The toll collection plaza, a sizable building that was constructed at great expense and needs a lot of labor to run properly, was the usual location for paying your fees for using a toll road and/or highway. Traffic jams still occur even with FASTag since cars still have to slow down significantly to be scanned through for the toll payment, especially for large commercial vehicles. That being said, the GPS-based toll-collecting system measures the distance your automobile travels using tracking devices and satellites and charges you a toll according to the distance you drive.

How Will It Work

It will take several years for all cars to be fitted with the technology, and the adoption of this new approach won’t be simple. That being said, this is the procedure that will operate if it is carried out properly.

• On-board units, or OBUs, which serve as tracking devices for the toll collection system, must be installed in the vehicles.
• When traveling on freeways and highways, the OBU will track your vehicle’s coordinates. It will then communicate those data with the satellite to determine how far you have traveled.
• The Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS), which is used by the GPS (Global Positioning System) to function, will help to maintain the precision of the distance calculation in this system.
• Additionally, cameras will be positioned along these roadways to verify that the distance is being estimated accurately by comparing the vehicle’s coordinates with the captured image. The camera can also assist in identifying which vehicles lack an OBU or may have one disabled by comparing the license plates to data from toll collection and satellite monitoring.
• Initially, just a small number of the nation’s main expressways and highways will have this toll collection system in place.

The OBUs are crucial to this system, just as much as the satellites and the tracking software. However, it needs to be installed externally because cars do not currently have it. Information regarding where and how to obtain these OBUs is currently unavailable, however, it may work similarly to how FASTags worked when they first came out. We anticipate that the procedure will go like this.

• These OBUs will be sold via government websites, much like FASTags. To order one, simply input your car’s registration number and complete a KYC.
• You must link the OBU to your bank account after applying.
• Car manufacturers may simply begin selling their vehicles with OBUs pre-installed at the time of delivery following the installation of this toll collection system, which you can then connect to your bank account.
• Similar to FASTags, OBUs may be sold by banks and private businesses.
• Your associated bank account will be automatically debited from the toll amount after the OBU is installed in the car, based on the distance traveled.

GPS Toll Collection Benefits

• Because the tracking device’s data is communicated directly with the satellite in this process, toll plazas won’t be necessary, making the travel even more convenient and saving you the time you would have to spend standing in line.
• The fact that customers only pay for the portion of the highways they utilize is another benefit of this approach. At the moment, it can be challenging to keep an eye on the entry and exit points of toll highways and roads, and you may be required to pay for the entire distance between toll plazas. These expenses would be reduced by the GPS-based system, which is particularly beneficial for cross-country business commutes.

Will It Work In India?

Several nations, including Germany and Singapore, have already used the GPS-based toll collection system, so it is not completely novel. India’s largest challenge is the huge number of roads this system has to monitor and the diverse range of cars on them. To cut costs, the nation is already quite skilled at converting to digital transactions and new technology.

To accomplish this, though, the existing FASTag-based infrastructure will need to be dismantled and new infrastructure will need to be built, which will be costly and take time. The expense of upgrading the entire infrastructure may be borne by the user in the form of higher toll plazas.

For now, India seems to be keeping up with the latest advancements in roadway technologies that could simplify the procedure, such as the GPS-based toll collection system. As the FASTags have shown, adoption and implementation will not be simple. In the end, we estimate that it will take the government ten years to implement it nationwide if they get to work on it right away.

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