Govt. accepts Experts Committee Report on Electronic Toll Collection
The Government has accepted the report of the Experts Committee headed by Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) Chairman Nandan Nilekani on Electronic Toll Collection (ETC) on highways all over the country.
Announcing this, Road Transport and Highways Minister Kamal Nath said the Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology that will be used for the system would ensure seamless travel across the country.
The Committee has recommended adopting RFID technology (based on EPC, Gen-2, and ISO 18000-6C Standards) for the system.
As per the roadmap drawn up by the Committee, the nationwide operation of the system is likely to begin by May 2012. It will provide a uniform inter-operable ETC system for paying tolls.
The five-member Committee was constituted by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways on April 20 this year to propose a suitable technology, architecture and methods for ETC in India.
An official press release said the committee considered the different ETC technologies being used in various parts of the world, such as Dedicated Short Range Communications (DSRC), RFID, Global Navigational satellite System/Cellular Network systems (GNSS/CN) and Vehicle Identification System using number plates.
It recommended adopting RFID technology which is maintenance-free, as the passive tag that is used does not require a battery, and has a long life. It is simple to install (an RFID tag can be simply stuck on the windscreen of a vehicle), and the reliability of identification is high. Most importantly, the cost of the passive RFID tag for the vehicle owner is a fraction of the cost of the other alternatives. It costs about Rs 100 per tag and about Rs 2 lakh per reader as compared to other technologies which cost Rs. 1000 to Rs 2000 for On Board Unit (OBU) and Rs. 2 to 5 lakhs for the reader.
RFID is the only technology (besides DSRC Passive Microwave) which has multiple suppliers. It allows tamper resistant "stickers" which are small, light, very cheap and with almost unlimited life. The technology is being used successfully in the United States, Mexico, Chile, Argentina and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the release said.
The Committee also recommended a pre-paid system for toll collection similar to the pre-paid phone cards which are people friendly. With pre-paid systems, a vehicle owner can "recharge" the account for the vehicle (the account number will be the RFID tag number), and when the vehicle passes through the ETC lane of any toll plaza across the country, appropriate toll will be debited from the account. All toll plazas on the National Highways will be equipped with systems to read the tags. Road users can buy /top up tags at a wide network of designated locations. In order to manage the financial transactions relating to toll collection (recharging, toll debiting, payment to the toll concessionaires, etc.) a Central Toll Clearing House (CTCH) has been proposed. A suitable software client will run at all toll plazas, which will be connected to the Clearing House through a WAN. Tag holders will be able to query account details through web, email and mobile phones. The RFID Tag system has additional advantages as it can be used for other applications like vehicle tracking, parking, traffic enforcement and so on, the release said.
The ETC system will allow electronic payment of highway tolls, using vehicle-to-roadside communication technologies to perform an electronic monetary transaction between a vehicle passing through a toll plaza and the toll collection agency.
ETC systems can replace human toll collectors who manually collect tolls at toll booths. Such a system can work across toll plazas run by different operators and allow transactions to be performed while vehicles travel at near-highway speed enabling seamless travel by the road users along National Highways
It is expected that the ETC system will be beneficial to users, toll operators and the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI). It will increase user convenience (from payment without stopping at toll plazas), lead to savings on fuel and reduction of emissions from idling and repeated stops for vehicles, reduce traffic congestion and time to commute. It would mean less operating cost for toll operators, better audit control through centralized user accounts, improve transparency of toll transactions and reduce revenue leakages, the release added.
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