FASTag mandatory for all vehicles from Dec 1

Vijayawada/Hyderabad: Thousands of four-wheeler owners and vehicle users across the two Telugu states are registering their vehicles for the FASTag, which is mandatory from December 1.

FASTag is a prepaid rechargeable Tag that helps vehicles to pass the toll plaza without stopping for payment of toll at toll gates as automatic toll deduction will be made from the wallets of the vehicle users.

The Union government has decided to collect toll through the FASTag from December 1. The National Highways Authority of India has tied up with more than 20 nationalised and private banks for the collection of toll fee through the FASTag.

The applicants can register their vehicle numbers online or manual at the toll plaza offices and banks. At the national highway Kaza tollgate in Guntur district as well as toll plazas on Hyderabad-Vijayawada stretch and some others are witnessing huge rush.

In Guntur district, more than 5000 vehicle owners visited for registration during the last 10 days.

Filing and submission of application is just 10 minutes process. The applicants have to submit a Xerox copy of Aadhaar card, PAN card, registration certificate of the vehicles and one passport size photo of the vehicle owner.

Various banks are also issuing the applications to the customers and registering the number of the vehicles for FASTags.

If the vehicle owners and users fail to get FASTag for their vehicles, they will have to pay double the toll charges from December 1. To avoid double toll charges, many customers are thronging the NHAI offices and banks for the registration of FASTag.

The vehicle users have to open FASTag payment account in the banks and maintain balance for toll payment at toll gates.

The number is connected to the toll gates across India and toll fee is deducted automatically as vehicle gets close to the plaza.

The FASTag is affixed on the window screen of the vehicle and activated FASTag works on Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology, said an official supervising the FASTag registration.

Notable point is that the FASTags do not have any expiry date and can be used as long as they are readable at toll plazas.

One or two lines at the toll gates will be dedicated to cash payment of toll and the rest are used for the FASTag registered vehicles.

After the registration of vehicles, the drivers need not wait for 5 to 10 minutes at the toll gates for payment of toll charges as automatic deduction will be made at the toll plazas and vehicles would pass very quickly at the gates.

This will save the time of lakhs of people, who cross the toll gates. On Chennai-Kolkata highway alone, more than 70,000 vehicles pass via Vijayawada city.

Truck and transport vehicle drivers, car drivers can save their precious time.

Passengers travelling in the RTC and private buses too will be benefitted with the implementation of the FASTag in the state. Finally, workload of the staff at toll plazas will come down drastically.

What is FASTag?

FASTag is a passive device, affixed to a vehicle's windscreen, which works on the principle of radio frequency identification (RFID) and enables cashless toll payments without requiring the vehicle to stop and wait in a queue.

When a motorist drives a vehicle equipped with the RFID tag through a dedicated toll plaza lane, a FASTag reader automatically detects the tagged vehicle and charges the appropriate amount from a linked account, while the vehicle is still in motion. The motorist gets intimated about the toll deducted via SMS on his registered mobile number.