Noida Airport commuters can drive through toll plaza without stopping, here’s how it will work

The Noida International Airport link expressway will introduce barrier-free toll collection, allowing vehicles to pass through the toll plaza without stopping. ANPR cameras will scan number plates and the toll will be automatically deducted through linked FASTag accounts, News18 reported on Thursday.

The toll itself will continue to be charged. The change is that motorists will not have to stop at a conventional toll booth to make the payment.

A toll plaza is being built at Karauli Bangar in Jewar, but it will not have the usual toll booths and barriers.

Instead, Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras installed along the road will scan the number plates of vehicles as they pass. The system will identify the vehicle through its linked FASTag details, after which the applicable toll amount will be deducted automatically.

Don't Miss: IndiGo raises infant fee, baggage and priority boarding charges: Sources

This means motorists can pass through the toll point without stopping, rolling down their windows or waiting for a barrier to open.

What this means for airport commuters

The system is expected to help commuters travelling to and from Noida International Airport, particularly during festivals and long holidays when traffic volumes are higher and toll plazas can see queues.

The link expressway connects Noida Airport to the Yamuna river in Haryana's Mohna region. According to the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), the expressway is targeted to be connected with the Eastern Peripheral Expressway by December.

Once the connection is completed, the stretch between Noida Airport and Mohna is planned to be opened for public use.

Where is this system already in use?

Barrier-free tolling is already operational on some highways in India. The Delhi–Meerut Expressway, which connects Delhi and Meerut, became the country's first toll-plaza-free highway after NHAI introduced an ANPR-cum-FASTag-based Multi-Lane Free Flow (MLFF) system.

Under the system, high-definition cameras read vehicle number plates and the toll is automatically deducted through FASTag, without physical toll booths.

The Chorayasi Toll Plaza on the Surat–Bharuch stretch of NH-48 in Gujarat became India's first operational MLFF corridor. This was followed by the Shahjahanpur, Daulatpura and Manoharpura toll plazas on the Delhi–Jaipur section of NH-48 in Rajasthan, as well as the Mundka Bakkarwala plaza on Delhi's Urban Extension Road-II.

Must Read: IndiGo raises infant fee, baggage and priority boarding charges: Sources

More highways to get barrier-free tolling

The system is also being planned for more national highways.

According to the road transport ministry, the barrier-free system has already been awarded for implementation at 17 toll plazas across the country. Five of these are operational, while bids have been invited for 104 more.

NHAI is planning to roll out the Multi-Lane Free Flow system at around 25 national highway fee plazas.

For commuters using the Noida Airport link, the change will mean that toll payment continues as before, but vehicles will be able to pass the toll point without stopping at a booth.