GPS-based tolling plan faces privacy concerns, delays

The government’s plan to implement a GPS-based tolling system on highways to ensure smooth payments and vehicle movement on national highways has triggered privacy concerns, delaying its launch.

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Officials at the ministry of road transport and highways (MoRTH) are discussing ways to tackle privacy concerns surrounding the proposed tolling system and are seeking legal advice on potential amendments to existing legislation, including the Motor Vehicles Act, to enable technology-based tolling, two people aware of the development said.

The GPS-based tolling system, which will replace FASTags, proposes to end the role of toll plazas as tolls would be collected on the go. The new system will require geo-fencing of highways that will then use the global positioning system (GPS) or radio frequency identification (RFID) to create a virtual geographic boundary, enabling software to trigger a response when a mobile device enters or leaves a particular area.

In the proposed GPS-based tolling system, vehicles will require a tracking device to enable monitoring of their movement. Tolls will be charged based on the distance travelled at the highway exit, eliminating the need to stop at toll plazas. Commuters will register themselves and their vehicles, linking bank accounts for seamless toll payments.