Intelligent system to take toll on the fly

NEW DELHI: You may not have to stop at every toll junction to pay charges. You could be able to pay toll even while driving at 100 km an hour. The government is planning to frame a policy for intelligent transport system (ITS) that will allow cars to be fitted with onboard unit for deduction of toll charges and various other taxes through credit card.

The other systems being considered under ITS are providing real time data on traffic and routes to the driver. Travellers will also be able to save on time or switch transport modes as per their convenience. They would also be able to pay for parking without cash.

Top officials from ministry of information technology and telecom, urban development ministry, ministry of science, health, ministry of heavy industries, finance ministry and home ministry had a meeting on October 12 to prepare the guidelines for the proposed ITS policy.

The ministries are together working on single emergency management services where police, fire service, ambulance and accident services can be reached at a single number.

“The core group comprising senior officials from all the ministries would frame a model policy and circulate it among all the states for its implementation. If implemented in a time-bound manner, the policy can bring a sea change in traffic management on Indian roads. Increase in the average speed of vehicles maintain all safety disciplines simultaneously would be the greatest advantage of the policy,” a senior government official associated with the framing of ITS told ET.

According to sources, the ITS can also be used in emission based speed enforcement which is based on automated speed enforcement technologies. “The goal is not to avoid speeding as such, but to reduce emissions by improving the flow of traffic, avoiding the stop-and-go dynamics that can raise large variations in vehicle speeds and maintaining traffic speeds within a range at which emissions on a gram per km basis are lowest,” the official added.

The officials have had several rounds of talks with policy makers of countries like Japan, South Korea, Singapore, China and the US. Hong Kong has arguably some of the most diverse public transport options on offer.

The densely populated, bustling region is extremely well connected through metro lines, buses, ferries, tram. To assist people make choices based on individual priorities of speed, modes and cost, the Hong Kong government has developed a Web-based multimodal public transport query system called EasyGo. It is a bilingual system and helps travellers find optimal travelling routes for users in terms of fewer transfer modes, shortest travelling time and lowest fare.