India's Highway Toll Collection Hits Five-Year High With Rs 64,810 Crores, Set To Soar Further With Satellite-Based System

India's highway toll collection for the fiscal year 2023-24 surged to a five-year high, reaching Rs 64,809.86 crore, marking a significant 34.9 per cent year-on-year increase, according to government data. This substantial rise in revenue is attributed to the expansion of tolled roads and an increase in their usage across the country.

The total length of toll roads in India stood at 45,428 km as of November 2023, witnessing a significant increase from 25,996 km at the end of FY19, reflecting a growth of 74.7 per cent. Government data also reveals that over 79.8 million FASTags have been issued till November 30, 2023, with the average daily collection via FASTags on national highway fee plazas amounting to Rs 147.31 crore.

Over the past five years, toll collection has witnessed a steady upward trend, with figures standing at Rs 25,154.76 crore in 2018-19, Rs 27,637.64 crore in 2019-20, Rs 27,923.80 crore in 2020-21, Rs 33,907.72 crore in 2021-22, and Rs 48,028.22 crore in 2022-23.

A senior official highlighted that the introduction of satellite-based toll collection systems is expected to further boost revenue. "We are conducting pilots across different stretches, and based on the feedback received, the system will be rolled out pan India in a graded manner," the official stated, reports Economic Times.

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways is currently pilot testing a satellite-based GPS toll collection system, which utilises the global navigation satellite system (GNSS) and automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras.

This advanced system ensures that customers pay only for the stretch of road they use. While ANPR offers a low-cost solution with easy rollout, GPS-based toll collection requires a longer transition period, as all vehicles will need to be equipped with an onboard unit (OBU) or tracking device for automatic toll deduction on national highways.

The primary objective of this innovative system is to alleviate congestion at toll booths by entirely phasing out physical toll booths nationwide in the future.