In a major move to make commuting on national highways easier and more pocket-friendly, the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways recently announced the ‘FASTag Annual Pass’, which would be valid for one year or a maximum of 200 trips, whichever is earlier, for just Rs 3,000.
The FASTag annual pass will be launched on August 15, 2024, on the occasion of India’s 78th Independence Day, and will enable hassle-free travel for commuters on national highways and NHAI expressways across the country by eliminating the need to repeatedly pay toll at toll booths.
According to the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, the annual FASTag will be valid only for non-commercial private vehicles such as cars, jeeps, and vans.
The FasTAG annual pass can be availed, activated, and renewed on Rajmarg Yatra App, NHAI website and the Ministry of Transport website, according to the Ministry. “A dedicated link for activation and renewal will soon be made available on the Rajmarg Yatra App as well as on the official websites of NHAI and MoRTH,” Union Minister Nitin Gadkari wrote on X.
Making the announcement, Gadkari said the FASTag annual pass aims to deliver a smoother and hassle-free travel experience private vehicle owners across the country.
“This policy addresses long-standing concerns regarding toll plazas located within a 60 km range and simplifies toll payments through a single, affordable transaction. By reducing wait times, easing congestion, and minimizing disputes at toll plazas, the Annual Pass aims to deliver a faster and smoother travel experience for millions of private vehicle owners,” he said.
The Minister noted that the annual passe will make travel on national highways and expressways pocket-friendly, as toll charges on national highways that came to about Rs 10,000 earlier will now come to Rs 3,000 with the annual pass, which means a single toll crossing would cost just Rs 15 on average, from the current Rs 50.
Notably, the FASTag annual pass will only be valid on toll booths located on the National Highways and Expressways operated by the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI), such as the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway. But it won’t work on expressways or highways operated by state governments, like Yamuna Expressway, the Meerut Expressway, the Agra-Lucknow expressway, and the Purvanchal Expressway, among others.
The toll booths on these expressways and highways will only accept already existing regular FASTag system, as per officials.
According to details, the FASTag pass will be linked to the RFID-based FASTag system, and will be automatically activated at all toll plazas within a radius of 60 kilometres, opening the the gates after the FASTag is scanned.
The pass will be valid only for vehicles with a registered FASTag on the windshield. It is non-transferable and will deactivate if used on another vehicle. Separate vehicles require separate FASTag registration.
The annual cannot be issued on FASTag registered vehicles who only have a chassis number. Car owners will need to update the Vehicle Registration Number (VRN) to activate the Annual Pass.
