Toll Rate Cut News: In a major relief for motorists, the government has reduced toll rates by up to 50 per cent on certain sections of national highways that include structures such as tunnels, bridges, flyovers and elevated roads. The move is aimed at lowering travel costs and making road journeys more affordable for the public, according to an IANS report.

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has amended the National Highways Fee Rules, 2008, and issued a new formula for calculating toll charges on infrastructure-heavy stretches.

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New toll formula: Shorter charges for costly structures

Under the revised rules, toll on such highway sections will now be calculated based on the lower of two values: either ten times the length of the structures or five times the total length of the highway section. This significantly reduces the effective charge, especially in areas with dense structural development.

For example, if a 40-kilometre highway stretch is entirely made up of structures like flyovers or bridges, the toll would be calculated either on 400 kilometres (10 times the structure length) or 200 kilometres (5 times the total length). In this case, users will be charged based on 200 kilometres, bringing down the fee by 50 per cent.

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Previously, users had to pay ten times the regular toll rate per kilometre for travelling on such expensive infrastructure, as construction and maintenance costs for tunnels, bridges and flyovers are considerably higher.

New FASTag-based pass for private vehicles from 15 August

In a separate move to improve road travel, Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari last month announced a new FASTag-based annual pass for private vehicles. Priced at Rs 3,000, the pass will be valid from 15 August and can be used for up to 200 trips or one year from the date of activation, whichever is earlier.

The pass is designed specifically for non-commercial vehicles such as cars, jeeps and vans, and aims to make highway travel more seamless and cost-effective for frequent travellers.