Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari announced on Friday that India is set to roll out a fully digital and barrier-free toll collection system nationwide, with an expected operational date of February-March 2027. The new system will utilize the Multi-Lane Free Flow (MLFF) model, aiming to streamline toll processing and enhance traffic flow across the country.
“In one year, we want to get all our tolls free on the MLFF model. I directed officials to complete it by December 2026. I believe 60% to 70% of the work will be completed by the end of the year. Gadkari said the wider adoption of FASTag and the shift towards digital tolling generated an estimated benefit of ₹ 20,000 crore to ₹ 25,000 crore annually for the government.
Gadkari said the government aims to eliminate stoppages, which would help reduce fuel consumption and the operational costs associated with toll plazas. By February-March, a barrier-free toll plaza system will be implemented across the country,” Gadkari said at the Global Fintech Fest in Mumbai. Gadkari, who inaugurated the country’s first barrier-free tolling system at the Mundka-Bakkarwala Toll Plaza on Delhi’s Urban Extension Road-II in May, said such a system means there will be no toll plaza on the way and no one will stop the vehicle. “It also means reducing fuel consumption and the operation and maintenance costs of toll plazas,” he said. “If you compare the system before and after FASTag, the benefit to our department alone comes to around ₹ 20,000 crore to ₹ 25,000 crore per year.”
He added that the next step is to ensure that vehicles do not have to stop at toll plazas at all. Gadkari said the operating cost of toll plazas is between 12% and 15%, which is expected to fall to 2% to 4% once the barrier-free tolling model is implemented nationwide. “This will help save ₹ 6,000 crore to ₹ 7,000 crore annually. “Earlier, the waiting time was 12 minutes, which used to stretch to 30 minutes at some places. Gadkari said the annual savings from reduced toll-plaza waiting times amount to around 71 crore hours and 56 crore litres of fuel, translating into fuel savings worth approximately ₹ 5,250 crore.
Gadkari said the electronic toll collection system FASTag has transformed the system by significantly reducing waiting times and eliminating the need for cash payments and change at toll plazas. Gadkari said software has been developed to understand the waiting time at every toll plaza. “There has been an improvement of 80% to 90%, but I want it to improve further so that no one has to wait at toll plazas,” Gadkari said. “The economic value of the time saved by commuters is estimated at ₹ 68,500 crore annually,” he said. “This is such a big benefit for the people.”
