Things to know about FASTags

The government made FASTags mandatory for all vehicles to ease payment at the toll plaza from January 15, 2020.

Initially, the government had given time till December 1 to buy the FASTags, later the time was extended to December 15. But now it has extended further to January 15, 2020.

As all toll plazas are not ready for FASTags and vehicle owners were not given enough time to turn to FASTags, the government extended the time. Moreover, there is a shortage of FASTag RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) stickers to provide to all vehicle owners.

Hence the time has been extended till January 15, 2020.

In this context, know more things about FASTags:

• FASTags are electronic toll collection tags to simplify the payment at a toll plaza.
• These tags are to be attached to the windshield of the vehicles.
• Those who fail to obtain these tags within the stipulated time would be imposed penalties.
• The vehicles that have FASTags can easily pass through toll plazas as they are not stopped for payment.
• The government says that majority of toll lanes are equipped for vehicles that have been attached with FASTags.
• One or two lanes will be available for normal vehicles. So, those who do not have these tags will have to face difficulty at the toll gates as they have to wait in longstanding queues.
• It should also be noted that the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) will not accept cash payment after it receives the government order.
• So far FASTags have been implemented at 524 toll plazas across the country.
• Vehicle owners can buy these tags at all major banks including State Bank of India, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, and Axis Bank.
• They can also obtain these tags at Paytm Payments Bank.
• If they have Airtel Thanks App, they can also buy these tags through the app.

Image Credit: 32 Lane Gurgaon Expressway Toll Plaza by Chandan is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0

Image Reference: https://www.flickr.com/photos/gurgaonshoppingmalls/2223804742