Misuse of FASTags and accounts without minimum balance have become a major headache for authorities at toll plazas, even as the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has extended the deadline for mandatory installation of the tag by a month.
The Union government pushed for digital payments at toll plazas by introducing FASTag, a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag that enables electronic transaction of toll fee at the plazas.
However, more than five years after the launch, more than 50% of the commuters are yet to make the switch while authorities at the plazas are grappling with several issues.
Of the 54,000 vehicles that passed through the Electronic City toll plaza on Monday, only 34% paid through FASTag while the rate was slightly higher at Attibele (44%), said authorities at Bangalore Elevated Tollway Private Limited, the concessionaire who manage the plazas.
