Mint Explainer: How India’s toll reforms are making highway travel smoother
A series of reforms in 2025 – from predictable toll expenses and digital payments to barrier-free tolling and reduced charges during upgrades – quietly reshaped highway travel in India.
India’s national highway network has expanded rapidly over the past decade, transforming long-distance mobility and regional connectivity. But this growth has brought with it a familiar pain point—long queues and delays at toll plazas.
Recognising that infrastructure expansion must go hand in hand with user convenience, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) and the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) have steadily reworked India’s tolling framework over the years.
These reforms gathered pace in 2025, during which a series of measures – from predictable toll expenses and digital payments to barrier-free tolling and fair charges during construction – quietly reshaped highway travel.
Mint delves deeper into the changes, why they were needed, and what’s coming next.
Why was reforming the tolling system necessary?
The rapid growth of national highways has significantly increased traffic volumes, putting pressure on conventional toll plazas.
The length of national highway network has grown by about 61% from 91,287 km in 2014 to 1,46,560 km at present. Meanwhile, the number of FASTag users (a proxy for traffic growth, considering FASTag became compulsory for all vehicles in February 2021) rose from about 35 million in 2021 to more than 80 million at present, according to the road transport ministry.
Before 2021, manual payments, lane congestion, disputes over cash, and frequent halts—especially for commercial vehicles—wasted time and fuel, leaving travellers frustrated.
MoRTH therefore decided to shift from a physical, stop-and-pay tolling model to a digital, seamless, and predictable system that ensured highway travel was fast, fair, and efficient for both daily commuters and long-haul transporters.
What is the FASTag annual pass and how does it help travellers?
Launched on 15 August 2025, the FASTag annual pass allows private vehicle owners to pay ₹3,000 upfront for 200 toll trips or one year, whichever comes earlier, across 1,159 toll plazas nationwide.
For frequent highway users—especially those commuting daily between cities—this has delivered substantial savings by replacing variable daily toll charges with fixed, predictable, and significantly lower fees, reducing both financial stress and the need for frequent FASTag recharges. With more than 400,000 such passes sold already and adoption at nearly 20% of car users, the scheme has shown that affordability and convenience can coexist.
How else has MoRTH encouraged digital payments at toll plazas?
Cash payments were once the biggest cause of congestion at toll plazas – an issue that. FASTag went a long way towards addressing. While FASTag adoption is already at 98%, MoRTH recognised the need for a smoother transition for the remaining 2%.
Earlier, vehicles without FASTag attracted double the toll. In November 2025 this was rationalised to 1.25 times the toll for UPI payments, making digital payments a viable, affordable and quick option.
The results are clearly visible: more than 1.5 million such UPI transactions were recorded between 15 November and 10 December 2025, for payments worth ₹19.44 crore. It also led to a 25% reduction in cash collections, less congestion and more transparency. “The focus has shifted from penalising users to nudging them towards digital convenience. The thinking now is to completely eliminate cash transactions at toll plazas and shift completely to digital for all non-FASTag payments," said a MoRTH official, who did not wish to be named.
What is barrier-free tolling and why is it a potential game-changer?
India is now preparing for the next leap in tolling with multi-lane free flow (MLFF) systems, which allow vehicles to pass through toll points at highway speed, with charges deducted automatically – no barriers, no queues, no stopping.
The first MLFF project will be set up at Choryasi Fee Plaza on NH-48 in Gujarat, with operations expected to commence this year. Five more such projects have been awarded —- along Delhi-Mumbai, Bengaluru-Chennai, Delhi-Dehradun, Amritsar-Jamnagar expressway and NH-44 stretch along Gurugram-Jaipur—-, signalling an imminent nationwide transition.
For truck drivers and other long-haul operators, this means lower fuel consumption, reduced fatigue, and faster turnaround times. The ministry hopes the measure will also contribute significantly to improving the efficiency of India's logistics and reducing costs.
What are the rules for toll collection on national highways undergoing expansion or upgrades?
Highway expansion often causes temporary inconvenience to travellers. In July 2025, MoRTH announced toll reductions during construction phases to ensure fairness. When a highway is being upgraded—such as from two lanes to four or six lanes—users will have to pay only 50% of the existing toll until the project is completed. This will ensure that users are not overcharged for incomplete infrastructure and there is transparency in toll collection.
What is the ministry doing to strengthen the FASTag system?
Beyond pricing reforms, MoRTH has focused on improving the integrity and reliability of the FASTag system through several measures such as
- ‘One Vehicle, One FASTag’ to prevent misuse
- Linking FASTag with Vahan, India's national vehicle registry, to curb vehicle category fraud
- Doubling the fee for any FASTag that is not affixed on the assigned vehicle
- Introducing multiple grievance redressal channels, including the 1033 helpline, bank support, email, and the RajmargYatra App.
Together, these steps aim to ensure smoother toll operations and quicker resolution of commuter complaints.
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