Commuters on national highways and expressways will need to pay more for their road journeys, as the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has increased toll charges by an average of 4 to 5 per cent on highway sections across the country.
The revised toll charges for motorists on national highways across the country have come into effect from Tuesday, a senior highways ministry official told PTI.
NHAI notifies toll rate hikes for all the national highways and expressways separately.
According to him, the change in toll fee is part of an annual exercise to revise the rates that are linked to the changes in the wholesale price index-based inflation. Every year, it is implemented from April 1.
There are around 855 user fee plazas on the national highway network on which user fee is levied as per National Highways Fee (Determination of Rates and Collection) Rules, 2008.
Out of these, around 675 are public-funded fee plazas and 180 are concessionaire-operated toll plazas.
The revised rates will affect the commuters of key routes across the country, including Delhi-Meerut Experssways, Eastern Peripheral Expressway, and Delhi-Jaipur Highway, among others.
Indian Foundation of Transport Research and Training ( IFTRT) fellow SP Singh said toll (road use charge) upward revision in relation to the increase in WPI will not have any significant effect on truck rentals as March 1- 31, 2025, has witnessed already an increase in truck rentals on leading trunk routes across the country by 2.5-3 per cent on the back of 10-15 jump in cargo offerings.
"In some way, the truckers have already discounted the likely increase in toll-free by the National Highway Authority of India," he said.
According to him, the increase in truck rentals during March 2025 is disproportionately high in comparison to a routine meagre increase in toll fees.
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