Travel relief: Toll fees cut by 50% on highways with flyovers and bridges

New Delhi: In a major relief for highway users, the Centre has reduced toll rates by up to 50 per cent on stretches of National Highways that include costly structures such as tunnels, bridges, flyovers, and elevated roads.

The decision is expected to make road travel more affordable for commuters across the country.

New toll calculation formula introduced

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has amended the National Highways Fee Rules, 2008, and introduced a revised formula for calculating toll charges.

Under the new system, tolls on such highway sections will be determined based on the lesser of two calculations either ten times the total length of the structures or five times the overall length of the highway section.

How the new rule works

For instance, if a 40-km stretch of a highway is entirely composed of flyovers or bridges, the toll will now be calculated on the lower value: either 10 times the structure length (400 km) or 5 times the total length (200 km). In this case, motorists will be charged based on 200 km, effectively cutting their toll fees by half.

Earlier, toll charges on these stretches were calculated at ten times the regular rate per kilometre due to higher construction and maintenance costs of such infrastructure.

FASTag annual pass for private vehicles from August

In a separate initiative to promote hassle-free highway travel, Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari has announced a new FASTag-based annual pass for private vehicles. The pass, priced at Rs 3,000, will be available from August 15.

The annual pass will apply to non-commercial vehicles such as cars, jeeps, and vans. It will remain valid for one year from activation or up to 200 trips, whichever is earlier.