NHAI's new 3,000 FASTag pass to ensure savings on frequent Mum-Surat commute

Time of India

15 hours ago

Mumbai: For engineering students Amit Joshi and Rajesh Kamte, carpooling between Mumbai and Nashik with their friends will get a lot cheaper from August this year. According to them, spending Rs 140 (Rs 280 two-way) on tolls on the old Mumbai-Nashik route every week or every two weeks cost them Rs 10,000 annually, considering almost 35 trips a year.
With the new NHAI FASTag pass applicable from August 15, the one-way cost would be just Rs 20-25 (Rs 40-50 two-way), which means the annual expenditure would be around Rs 2,000 to 2,500, a saving of about 75%, says Amit. However, a parallelly built Samruddhi highway would cost motorists around Rs 160-180 one way, though it will be faster than the old highway route, Rajesh added.
NHAI has introduced a FASTag-based annual pass priced at Rs 3,000, effective August 15.
Valid for one year from the date of activation or up to 200 trips—whichever comes first—this pass is designed exclusively for non-commercial private vehicles such as cars, SUVs, jeeps, and vans.
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Lakhs of motorists frequenting between Mumbai and Nashik, or Mumbai and Surat, or Mumbai and Ratnagiri using the old national highways will save a lot on their toll expenditure if they use this Rs 3,000 FASTag pass.
Hitesh Domadia, an IT executive with a banking firm, said since he and his brother's family hailed from Surat, spending Rs 560 two-way on tolls on the Ahmedabad highway every two weeks is the norm.
However, with the new pass, the toll expenses of around Rs 1,120 (two trips to Surat every month) would come to a paltry Rs 320 to 360, said Mitesh, Hitesh's younger brother. However, a new greenfield Mumbai-Delhi expressway being built parallelly will charge over four times, though it will be faster.
For the Domadias, their bimonthly company visits to Vadodara and Ahmedabad will also get a lot cheaper, given two to three additional toll booths beyond Surat towards Ahmedabad. Thus, a large number of Mumbaikars taking the three national highways — towards Goa, Ahmedabad, and Nashik — almost every week would save a lot on toll. Since the Mumbai-Pune and Mumbai-Nagpur expressways have been built by the state, the new pass will not benefit motorists from them.
Thus, as of now, state highways will continue to charge tolls as per their existing rates, revealed MSRDC officials, pointing out that similar passes could be devised for the state after consulting the national authorities.