The National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) has invited expressions of interest for the implementation of a satellite-based electronic toll collection system.
Interested parties must have average annual turnover of ₹1,000 crore over the last 3 financial years or equivalent foreign currency, and an experience of 10 years in electronic toll collection.
The winning entity will have to develop a geo-referenced map, and a toll charging software for the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS).
In its tender document, the NHAI has said that it plans to implement the GNSS-based electronic toll collection system alongside RFID based Fastags currently being used by vehicles. Each toll plaza will have two or more dedicated lanes for GNSS-ready vehicles, where barriers will remain open to ensure free flow of vehicles. The lanes will have advanced readers to identify GNSS vehicles, which will have an onboard tracking unit deployed on them that will send out signals to enable calculation of distance and time of vehicles. The payment system will be the same as the one being used for Fastag, where toll amount will be debited directly through a vehicle owner’s bank account.
The toll charger will send the calculated user fee to be charged to the vehicle owner through an SMS as well as a map that will show the path traversed by the vehicle.
On the issue of privacy, the EOI document states that the selected company will have to develop a suitable mechanism for data transfer from vehicle locating and tracking device to the control centre and only authorised devices should be able to transfer data to the backend control centre. The provider will also have to ensure that security and privacy of data is maintained in accordance with the law and government guidelines.
Published - June 08, 2024 09:33 pm IST
