New Delhi, June 19 -- The Union government is introducing a FASTag-based annual pass priced at Rs.3,000, from August 15 for private non-commercial vehicles in a move to facilitate cheaper, congestion-free highway travel. This pass has to be renewed every year from the date of activation or after 200 trips-whichever comes first. Officials said that every exit of toll stretches will be counted as one trip for all highways except controlled access expressways, for which the entire travel can be counted as one trip. The announcement comes at a time when the government has rolled out a pilot for ANPR (automatic number plate recognition) -based barrier-free tolling systems in select stretches, and a satellite-based highway toll collection system is in the works. According to official studies commissioned by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), adoption of the FASTag system has reduced the average waiting time at toll plazas from 12 minutes 14 seconds to 47 seconds for the financial year 2022-23. For this annual pass, union minister for road transport and highways Nitin Gadkari said a dedicated link for activation and renewal will soon be made available on the Rajmarg Yatra App as well as on the official websites of NHAI and MoRTH. He said the policy addresses long-standing concerns regarding toll plazas located within a 60 km range and simplifies toll payments through a single, affordable transaction. By reducing wait times, easing congestion, and minimisng disputes at toll plazas, it will benenfit millions of private vehicle owners. Officials said this will not dampen the revenue streams through toll collection as at least 75% of toll revenue is collected from commercial vehicles. Kushal Kumar Singh, partner, Deloitte India, said this initiative empowers private vehicle owners with predictable toll costs....