National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) on Friday said that it is considering discontinuing cash transactions from April 1 2026 at toll plazas across India.
Already 98% of the toll fee is collected through FASTag and the remaining through UPI-based digital payments and cash. While UPI payments attract 1.25x the normal charge, cash transactions cost twice the amount.
In a statement, NHAI said, “The proposed measure is aimed at consolidating the gains achieved in Electronic Toll Collection and strengthening the efficiency and reliability of National Highway fee plaza operations. The transition will help to enhance ‘Ease of Commuting’ for National Highways users by improving lane throughput, reducing congestion at fee plazas and bringing greater consistency and transparency in toll transactions.”
It added that plaza-level assessments indicate that cash-based payments contribute to congestion, increased waiting time during peak traffic periods and transaction-related disputes.
Earlier, NHAI had said that FASTag adoption has resulted in the average waiting time at toll plazas going down from 734 seconds to 47 seconds during the financial year 2022-23. To further improve highways travel, NHAI has started barrier-free toll collection system and is expected to bring all toll plazas under the barrier-less regime by 2026-end.