Ganga Expressway opens with a free ride offer: No toll for 15 days to boost ridership

LUCKNOW: In a public-interest initiative, UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Friday announced that vehicle owners commuting via Ganga Expressway will not have to pay any user charges for the first 15 days.The exemption would be effective till May 13 as the 594-km long eway connecting Meerut to Prayagraj was thrown open on April 29.The objective is to increase ridership on the carriageway by allowing vehicle owners to experience the smooth ride during the initial few days of its opening. As a result four-wheeler owners would not have to pay Rs 1,800 to cover the distance between Meerut and Prayagraj or vice versa. Similarly no fees would have to be paid to commute to other 10 districts that have been covered through the eway between Meerut and Prayagraj.Acting on the chief minister’s direction, the Uttar Pradesh Expressways Industrial Development Authority, directed concessionaires (IRB Infrastructure and Adani Infrastructure) to defer toll collection on the Ganga Expressway for a period of 15 days.The state is going to compensate the construction companies. The eway was developed within a span of three and a half years under the public-private-partnership model. The concessionaires have a right to collect the user fees for the next 27 years.