A peek into how tech may help you beat congestion at border toll posts

NEW DELHI: Staring at the men giving the finishing touches to the newly installed, two-lane radio frequency ID toll infrastructure at Aya Nagar, Keshav Kumar worries he will soon lose his job as a chaser of vehicles that avoid paying the municipal tax at the border crossing. But unlike angst-ridden Kumar, the rest of Delhi has been waiting for this automated toll system to ease the jams at the borders.

The work that Kumar currently does to prevent evasion of toll payment will now be done by technology. The RFID system comprising an overhead radio frequency dish, high-resolution number plate readers, axle sensors on the ground and an alarm will automate the process of toll collection. Gyan Prakash, engineer with Tecsidel India, which installed the components, explained, “The dish can read the RFID tag information in a vehicle travelling at up to 60kmph from a distance of 15-20 metres.” When a vehicle with a valid RFID tag approaches, the dish calculates the appropriate toll and deducts the amount. Information related to load and axle will be cross-verified with data from the axle sensors.

Prakash added, “One of the four hi-res cameras has a range of 300m and will image the number plate. They will help make cash transactions faster because the operators do not have to enter car details manually.” The cameras, connected to the central database, will also identify vehicles older than 10 years or non-destined trucks entering Delhi.

Vehicles trying to drive past the toll gate without paying, say behind another vehicle, will be stopped by a flying squad deployed 100m away, which will be alerted by sirens and illuminated alarms. There is no penalty for evasion at present, but the Environmental Pollution Control Authority is expected to soon announce fines.

The road has been bifurcated for the purpose. “Two lanes on the right will allow passage to non-commercial vehicles without obstruction,” said Yogesh Gaur, site in-charge at Aya Nagar. “Commercial vehicles will be directed to the left side, which has two toll booths: one for taxis or autos and another for heavy vehicles.”

Cabbie Keshav Kumar, purchasing an RFID tag which costs Rs 237 to register, hoped not to have to stand in queues to recharge toll cards, as with the existing passes. But South Delhi Municipal Corporation has announced it is launching a mobile Android app called ECC Tag for online payments.

SDMC officials said that five of the 13 border points — Aya Nagar, Kapashera, Tikri, Rajokri and DND — will be RFID-enabled first, and the rest by November end.



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