Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority: Electronic toll soon on Outer Ring Road

Hyderabad: The Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) has decided to implement electronic toll collection (ETC) along the 158 km-long Outer Ring Road (ORR). Radio frequency identification (RFID) tags will be used at 19 interchanges in 69 lanes along the ORR.

The Rs 67-crore project for establishment and maintenance of this toll management system has been bagged by Efkon India Pvt. Ltd.

The HMDA decided to introduce the ETC system at two interchanges on the 24 km stretch from Gachibowli to Shamshabad, on a pilot basis for 60 days, to allow motorists pay tolls while on the go.

The project was handed over to Eagle Infra India. Motorists were issued RFID tags that would automatically be detected by sensors installed at the toll plaza. However, within 15 days of the launch of the pilot project, technical problems began surfacing and commuters began complaining about non-functional RFIDs.

However, HMDA officials claim that the issues have since been resolved, and ETC will soon be functional along the entire ORR.

B. Anand Mohan, the chief general manager of the ORR says that the ETC system will be operational by the end of February. He says that Bharti Airtel has agreed to provide internet access until HMDA lays a dedicated optic line, which will be ready by March.

The ETC system is being introduced by the HMDA nearly 10 years after the inauguration of a portion of the ORR.

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) introduced the technology at a majority of the toll plazas across the country post demonetisation.

In order to use the ETC facility, motorists have to buy RFID tags and attach them to their vehicles. These tags function like pre-paid SIM cards used in mobile phones. When the sensor at a toll plaza detects an RFID, and if that RFID has enough credit balance, the toll is automatically deducted from it and the vehicle is directly allowed to pass through, without having to halt.