New Delhi. Drivers on national highways across the country will now have to pay toll at increased rates. The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has increased the toll fee by an average of five percent from Monday. A senior NHAI official told PTI that this increase in toll fee is part of the authority’s annual process. Under this process, the NHAI calculates the new toll rates keeping in mind several parameters. Every year the revised rate is implemented from April 1, but this time it was postponed due to the ongoing process of general elections. This time the toll fee has been increased by an average of five ?? percent. The toll fee is revised every year keeping in mind the changes in inflation based on the Consumer Price Index. The official said that the revised user fee of the toll has come into effect from Monday.
This means that motorists using national highways and expressways will now have to pay more money at toll centers for their road journey. Ankur Saxena, an advertising professional who frequently travels on the Delhi-Lucknow route, said, “The cost of vehicle fuel was already high. Now the increase in toll rates will make it even more expensive for people to travel by road.” There are about 855 toll plazas on the national highway network, which levy user fees in accordance with the National Highway Fee (Determination and Collection of Rates) Rules, 2008. Of these, about 675 are public-funded fee plazas while 180 plazas are operated by concessional entities.