NEW 4WHEELERS MUST HAVE ETAGS
The government has made it mandatory for vehicle manufacturers to install FASTag — a radio frequency identification tag used to pay automatically — in all four-wheelers sold after December 1. The Union transport ministry on Thursday notified the changes. ››
NEW DELHI: The government made on Thursday installation of FAST ag, a rechargeable card that uses passive radio frequency identification( RF ID) technology to debit toll charges automatically, mandatory for all fourwheel automobiles sold from December 1.
Manufacturers and authorised dealers will have to ensure vehicles are fitted with the tag.
“In case of vehicles that are sold as drive-away chassis without windscreen, FASTag will have to be fitted by the vehicle owner before it is registered,” said the road transport and highways ministry in a statement.
The tag will allow seamless travel on highways, cutting long queues at toll booths. The FASTag has to be linked to a prepaid account by the vehicle’s owner.
For existing vehicles, drivers can buy the tag from designated banks and toll booths and fix them on the windscreen.
The ministry notified the changes to relevant sections of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989.
The move is part of the government’s much-hyped electronic toll collection (ETC) system.
At least one lane each on both carriageways of the 370 toll plazas inthecountry has interoperable RFID tag-based ETC system in place. In the remaining l an espeo- ple can pay by cash, credit card, orPayTM. FAS Tags will eventually be expanded to all the lanes.
The tag has a unique code to help identify a vehicle. When it passes through a toll booth, the ETC system reads the vehicle’s code and automatically deducts the toll.
Union road sec reta ry Y SM alik told HT this September that the ministry will expand the lanes earmarked for FASTag-users depending on its penetration.
Of the four million vehicles plying on highways each day now, over 600,000 have RF ID tags.
There are six private as well as public sector banks appointed to manage toll transactions.
If the ministry succeeds in starting the single RFID tagbased ETC across all toll plazas, India would become the lone country to have a uniform interoperable facility. The USA and Europe use separate ETC for different cities.