New Delhi, 5 July (IANS). Giving great relief to the drivers, the central government has reduced the toll rates by up to 50 percent on some parts of the national highways. These parts include structures such as tunnels, bridges, flyovers and elevated roads.
The purpose of this step is to reduce the cost of travel and make road travel more economical to the people.
The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has amended the National Highway Fee Rules, 2008 and notified a new formula for calculating toll charge.
According to the new rule, now the toll will be calculated in such a way that the fees will be reduced on those parts of the highway, including mainly expensive infrastructure.
According to the notification, if any part of the national highway includes structures such as flyover or tunnel, the toll will be calculated either ten times the length of the structure or five times the total length of the highway segment.
Giving an example, the ministry said that if the 40 -km part of the highway is made entirely of a bridge or flyover -like structure, the toll is calculated 10 times (400 km) or 5 times the length of 5 times (200 km) of the toll will be reduced to a lower price base i.e. 200 km.
Earlier, drivers had to pay ten times more than a regular toll rate for each kilometer of such structure, as the construction and maintenance of this type of infrastructure is more expensive.
Meanwhile, taking an important step towards the trouble-free highway journey, Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari announced a new fastag-based annual pass for private vehicles last month. This pass priced at Rs 3,000 will be available from August 15 this year.
Especially designed for non-commercial private vehicles such as cars, jeeps and vans, this annual pass will remain valid till one year from the date of activation or up to 200 trips, whatever it is earlier.
-IANS
SKT/