ANPR cameras in India are replacing Toll Plaza
The government of India is currently formulating a strategy to eradicate toll plazas nationwide in favor of automated license plate readers. The license plates of passing cars will be scanned by these cameras, and the owners’ bank accounts will be automatically debited.
Minister of Road, Transport, and Highways (MoRTH) Nitin Gadkari told The Indian Express that a trial program of the system is currently underway and that legal reforms are also being made to aid this transition. Therefore, FASTags, which were mandated the previous year in India, is likely to become obsolete in the near future.
Currently, FASTag is used to collect 97% of all tolls, or about Rs 40,000 crore, while the remaining 3% pay twice as much because they do not have FASTag. Claims state that cars with FASTags can zip through a toll booth in just 47 seconds, and official data shows that electronic lanes can process up to 260 more cars per hour than manual ones. There are 112 vehicles that use the toll lane every hour.
| Read Also: How to check your FASTag balance? |
What is ANPR?
In this piece, we’ll refer to ANPR, or Automatic Number Plate Recognition, as an acronym. It’s a system that can pinpoint moving vehicles by reading their license plates.
This data is gathered with the help of scanners or cameras and then used for various traffic and law enforcement applications.
How Does ANPR Work?
Using optical character recognition, ANPR technology can convert a photograph of a license plate into a textual form that a computer can understand.
CCTV, ANPR-specific cameras, and cameras used for traffic enforcement are all potential applications of the technology. Infrared light can help cameras get a clearer picture in low-light situations.
Why is ANPR cameras in India Replacing toll plazas?
The city is thinking about getting rid of toll plazas off of interstates and highways to ease traffic congestion caused by vehicles waiting in line at toll booths. ANPR cameras in India are replacing Toll Plaza.
Even though more than 5.56 crore FASTags have been issued and more than 96% of tolls have been collected through the use of FASTag technology, there has not been a significant reduction in the amount of congestion on national highways.
| Also read: How to use Google Maps to check toll rates |
How will the process work?
The toll road’s entrances and exits will each have a camera mounted at their respective checkpoints. Automatic Number Plate Reader (ANPR) cameras can read license plates and automatically deduct the toll tax from the bank accounts of vehicle owners.
However, there is a catch: license plates manufactured after 2019 will only be readable by the cameras.
Currently installed license plates will need to be swapped out for newer versions before the upgrade can take place so that the system can be adopted on a large scale while still being traceable.
How will this benefit the vehicle owners?
Vehicle drivers will benefit from this system because they will spend less time waiting to leave the toll road and more time actually driving. ANPR cameras in India are replacing Toll Plaza.
This will help traffic move more smoothly on major thoroughfares by reducing bottlenecks and making driving more convenient for motorists. Moreover, thanks to the implementation of cutting-edge technology, the toll fee will be cut in half.
A final decision has not been made because the government is also looking into the possibility of using satellite-based GPS technologies to automatically deduct tolls. The government will make a decision within the next six months, and supportive legislation will be passed within the same time frame. Toll booths will be eliminated from U.S. highways in the near future via some form of the electronic payment system.
When will Xiaomi 13 Pro Launch in India?
ANPR cameras in India are replacing Toll Plaza in India