Toll collection at national highways drop up to 30% over past week

Toll collections on national highways have fallen by up to 30% over the past week after Covid-19 induced lockdowns curbed the flow of traffic, officials said. Collections began to get affected earlier this month as several states announced restrictions on activities to contain the spread of the pandemic.

“Toll collection has seen a significant dip in the last 7-10 days when state governments gradually started announcing lockdowns,” a senior government official told ET. “Inter-state movement has stopped.”

The drop in collections ranges from 20% to 30%, the official said, asking not to be identified. The average daily collection at toll plazas managed by the National Highways Authority of India is Rs 92-95 crore.


A second official ET spoke with said that collections continue to dip further this week. The average daily collection on national highways had started increasing following the shift to electronic toll collection this year. “With 95% toll being collected through FASTags, collections till March were quite good, and April only saw a marginal decrease resulting from lockdowns,” the official said.

India is in the midst of a ravaging second wave of Covid-19, which has overburdened the healthcare system.

During last year’s nationwide lockdown, toll collection came to a halt for 21 days, costing NHAI Rs 1,100 crore, according to ratings agency ICRA. Toll collections bounced back later and touched 114% of normal levels in November.

More than a dozen states and Union Territories are under partial or complete lockdown.