'₹3,000 per month on Worli sealink': Investor claims FASTag savings are a distant dream for many in Mumbai

Rahul Mathur, pre-seed investor at DeVC Global, recently took to social media to explain that while savings on FASTag annual passes is a reality for many, it is a distant dream for most Mumbaikars. Mathur said in his post that a shocking revelation awaited him when he checked his FASTag online. 

He further flagged the sales figures of FASTag annual passes in the first 4 days since they were launched by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI). 

"Indians paid ₹72,000 crore in toll charges last year - this is 2.5x the amount pre-COVID in 2019. When I checked my FASTag online - my family spends ~ ₹3,000 per month on the Worli sealink alone; other Mumbai residents might relate to this. Therefore, it shouldn't surprise you that 5 lakh FASTag annual passes were sold in 4 days of launch by the NHAI - some frequent travellers have projected ~ ₹10,000+ per annum in savings from the pass," he wrote on X. 

The pre-seed investor further stated that the savings reported by many people, however, come with a catch — the annual pass does not work on all highways. It only works on national highways and expressways operated by the NHAI, such as the NH-44 (North-South corridor, e.g. Srinagar-Kanyakumari), Mumbai-Nashik Expressway, and Ahmedabad-Vadodara Expressway. 

He said that highly used routes such as the NICE (Bangalore-Mysore) road, the Bandra-Worli sea link and the Atal Setu bridge are not included. While the NICE road is excluded because it is operated by a private group, the Bandra-Worli sea link and Atal Setu bridge are excluded because they are operated by the Maharashtra government. 

The investor, however, said that not all is gloomy, as inter-state commuters and road trip enthusiasts can benefit the most from this pass. He said that if you commute from Bangalore-Kochi or Bombay-Goa by road frequently (once or more in a month), you will be able to have savings of around ₹300-400 per trip. 

"My relatives who stay in Ghatkopar are most excited by this - since they drive the Mumbai Nashik corridor almost twice per month - equates to ~₹5,000 saved. Similar calculation works for Surat - but that drive is 6 hours (yikes!)."

He explained that only private 4 wheelers are eligible for this pass and it can be brought via the Rajmarg Yatra app or the official NHAI website. He also said that you have to pay a one-time fee of ₹3,000 to get it linked to your existing FASTag.

He added that the pass remains active for 200 trips and it is counted as a single trip if there is an entry and exit toll booth on a road. "Therefore, if I do Worli → Bandra → Worli on the Sealink - this would be considered 2 trips."

Mathur then underscored why the pass cannot work for all projects. He mentioned that the state governments have their own separate partnerships or schemes under which they develop such projects, each of which has a different toll collection period and collection agency. 

"In fact, many of these State Govt related projects have a separate Pass scheme e.g. the Bandra-Worli sealink in Mumbai has a Monthly Pass which costs ~₹5,000 per month & offers unlimited usage of the sealink for one month!"

He also said that despite the adverse impact on revenue to some extent, the annual pass is something that state governments should also consider it as commuters, especially in urban areas, would benefit immensely from the same.