What is Fastag? How to Get or Buy Fastag for your vehicle?
Fastag is a card that works on radio frequency identification technology. It is used to make a payment from the prepaid savings account like debit cards. They are pasted on the windscreens of your vehicles. When you drive towards the toll plazas they scan themselves and you do not have to stop for this process. Hence the process saves your precious time.
They can easily be attached to the windshield of your cars from the inside. It works on the principle known as Radio Frequency Identification (RFID). It is linked to the registration details of your vehicle. As you pass through any of the toll plazas, there are dedicated lines of the readers installed above your head. As you pass with your vehicle beneath these lines the RFID code is detected and the necessary amount is deducted from your card. In case of any problems, they do not.
This process gained much importance as previously one has to stop and talk to a human being ask them the charges then they ask for change. The process was long enough to gather big lines of vehicles. Due to this process, the time consumption is less and you can save your precious time in your long journeys.
These tags are made up of integrated circuits and have an antenna that is not visible to us. They connect with the rays presented above the toll plaza and thus develop wireless communication. There are two types of tags active tag and passive tag.
An active tag is one that requires a battery to keep it activated always. Whereas the passive one does not need a power source and gets active when it comes in contact with the rays of the toll plaza or the readers want to read some data.
Fastags are examples of passive types of tag. The system is so designed to only collect the important data whenever necessary. They do not need any human support for their functioning they just need to put into the areas where RFID rays are present. If these tags were made by active methods it would be very difficult to maintain batteries within them every time.
The pairing of each tag and car is done with unique identification numbers, encoded in tags. In this way, each vehicle is specified differently by different tags. This avoids problems of cheating and duplicity. The charges so collected id distributed accordingly with the state, national and RTO authorities.
The Fastag concept applies to nearly 490 national highways of India, and they are over in 39 plus states. One lane of the toll plaza is entirely been dedicated to the vehicles that use this method to pay their charges. The other accepts cash to in the case when they do not possess Fastag.
The Government of India has made Purchase and use of Fastag compulsory to all the vehicles sold after 1 October 2017. They have also launched an app name “Fastag Partner App”. This facility is for all the dealers of India to get access to the activation of Fastag during the delivery of the vehicles.
How Fastag Works?
Benefits of Fastag:
- Cashless Payment- People using Fastag need not have to carry cash with them, and not to struggle for keeping the change.
- Fast Process- The process duration is quiet fast and saves your surplus time. This allows us to escape from boring lines of the Toll plaza.
- Online Recharge- In case when you are out of recharge, there is also an online recharge facility to fill your account again. This can be done by ATM card, Debit card, NEFT, RTGS or also by Net Banking.
- SMS Alerts- SMS alert will give you full details of the transaction made through Fastag.
Steps To Buy Fastag:
- Online Means– Fastag is readily available on all the websites of many banks. They are also available on websites of NHAI and IHMCL. After purchasing a Fastag from these websites it comes via courier to your doorstep within a few days.
- Via Mob App- MyFastag is also a consumer app that can be easily downloaded by play stores. The app is compatible with both the Ios and android version. A customer can also recharge their Fastag with the help of this app. The app also keeps the history of all the transactions done by your Fastag. It also provides online grievance redressal.
- POS- This app can also be purchased from various points of sales terminals of the certified banks. They are present in the offices of Toll plaza and banks. It can be purchased from over 28,55 pos locations set up by various departments of NHAI, RTO, common service center, transport hubs, and many selected petrol pumps. For retail purposes or smaller vehicles. Fastag is available on the leading e-commerce website Amazon. You can also reach your bank to purchase one of these.
- Documents Required: You need to carry your original ID proof. You need to have full papers of the vehicle you own. Also a valid driving license and your passport size photo. A full KYC detail has to provide to the officials. The process is the same as opening a bank account. You can also call the 1033 NH helpline to get the full details.
- Validity: The validity of the Fastag is 5 years and also comes unlimited. The Fastag can be used for long periods until the card does not tamper or does not scan itself properly. In such cases, you can visit your local bank and ask them to issue a new one.
Charges of Fastag:
They can be charged to a maximum of 200 Rs for each Fastag. However, the charges may vary according to banks
The government authorities are having multiple things in mind with this idea of Fastag. They want to reduce the risk of cash handling and to stop retail payment. They also want to reduce the rush in highways and to keep themselves safe from the problems of jamming of traffic. The transport goods by this means can deliver things on time and thus helps in the growth of the economy.
