Toll waiver in Mumbai: ‘Elated to be notified that Rs 0 had been deducted’

The Dahisar toll plaza wears a relatively empty look after the toll waiver was implemented early on Tuesday morning. Pics/Nimesh Dave

To witness the implementation of the decision to waive toll for light motor vehicles (LMVs) at Mumbai's five entry points, mid-day monitored the situation at the Dahisar toll plaza from Monday night to Tuesday evening. After midnight, the team's vehicle, equipped with a FASTag, passed through the toll plaza, allowing the scanner to scan the tag. Shortly after, the reporter received a message confirming a deduction of Rs 0.00 from the FASTag, indicating a successful toll-free passage. Several motorists at the toll plaza reported similar experiences.

Toll booth operators were seen explaining the new toll-free policy to commuters, reassuring them that while the FASTag scanning process continued, it was purely for record-keeping purposes and no charges would be applied for LMVs. A toll operator told mid-day, "The system was updated such that whichever vehicle had a FASTag identifying it as an LMV, its toll charge was updated to Rs 0. This is why some motorists got messages about Rs 0 being deducted."

Bumper-to-bumper traffic was seen at the plaza on Tuesday evening. Pic/Prasun Choudhari

mid-day confirmed that vehicles with FASTags exiting the toll plaza had been scanned but no toll charges were deducted. LMVs were not made to stop at the toll booth and if FASTags had to be scanned, toll operators made the vehicles concerned stop a little beyond the toll plaza to confirm the deduction of Rs 0 to avoid traffic congestion.

Mood at toll plaza

Morning

While Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde faction) and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena karyakartas (volunteers) were seen celebrating the dawn of the toll-free era at the Dahisar toll plaza early on Tuesday morning, staffers were seen checking the messages received by the drivers of vehicles whose FASTags had been scanned and even explaining the motorists that no amount had been deducted from them.

A message received by a motorist indicating that no deduction had been made. Pic/Nimesh Dave

The overnight enforcement of the new system was met with mixed reactions. While some commuters expressed relief over the toll exemption, others were initially confused by the scanning process. "I thought there was a technical error when my FASTag was scanned and showed a deduction of Rs 0. However, the toll booth staff clarified that the deduction reflected the toll-free implementation," said a frequent commuter.

Another commuter said, "It was a historic decision. I was happy to see the toll not being deducted after so many years. I still remember the price being Rs 15. It was as high as Rs 45 before this decision was implemented." Another motorist said the decision was long-awaited. "I was elated to see a message informing me that no toll had been deducted after my FASTag was scanned," he said.

Ram Singh Pal, tempo driver

Meanwhile, passholders were visibly confused about the proceedings. A daily commuter said, "I had bought a pass not even three days ago. Of what use is it now?" At night, the toll booth is usually congested. However, due to the toll waiver, this was not the case.

Afternoon

During non-peak hours, the toll plaza was relatively less congested as passing LMVs were not stopped.

Evening

Despite the state government's decision, traffic flow was typical after 4 pm. Ram Singh Pal, a tempo driver, told mid-day, "Toll booth operators should create separate lanes where automobiles and other light motor vehicles exempted from toll can pass without any hindrance. I travel daily from here. Bikers should stick to the lane assigned for them as they are the ones who do the most lane changing, hindering traffic flow. This goes for autos, too. Until lane discipline is observed, the situation at this toll booth during peak hours will never improve."