Back in April, Google announced that their Maps application will be able to give you an estimate about the tolls. The new feature was announced for India, Japan, USA and Indonesia. The new feature has gone live now for both Android and iOS users. You just need to make sure that your application is updated to the latest version.
For the planner friend: this new feature is for you. 🙏
Now when you’re planning trips big and small, you can check estimated toll prices before you pick a route—and spend what you save on road snacks. pic.twitter.com/Lfy8s2TXQU
— Google Maps (@googlemaps) June 13, 2022
Google says that the new feature is available for almost 2,000 toll roads. The information will be gathered from the local toll authorities. As of now, we are not sure whether Google Maps would also consider if the vehicle is using a FASTag or not.
Indian users can see the estimated toll prices in their Google Maps application while navigating somewhere.
It is important to note that Google is just providing an estimate, the real cost and number of tolls could be more or less than the estimate.
The new feature is quite simple to use. What you need to do is just enter the destination and click on directions. You can disable or enable the new feature by clicking on the three dots that are on the top right corner and click on “Route Options”. Then you just need to check or uncheck “See toll pass prices”.
FASTag System To End Soon In India
When FASTags were made mandatory, there were a lot of issues at first. Some tolls are still facing issues where the machine would not read the tag because of which the operator would manually need to scan the FASTag. However, the FASTags might become obsolete soon.
In May, the Union Government is planning to roll out a GPS-based toll tax collection system. The government might introduce the new GPS-based toll tax collection system. A media report claimed that the Indian government is already testing the new system on our Indian highways. However, the exact details of the pilot project are not known.
The new system will calculate the toll tax based on how much the vehicle covers the distance on the highway. The new laws will charge tolls on a pro-rata basis. This means the more you use the highways, the higher amount of toll you will need to pay. As of now, toll tax is charged at the toll booths at a stepped price.
The GPS-based toll tax collection system is already working in some European countries and has been successful till now. After seeing the success of the system the Indian government planning to implement a similar system on the Indian roads as well.
The system is quite simple. It starts recording the journey as soon as the car starts driving on the tolled road. It stops when the car exits. The user needs to pay the toll depending on the kilometres he has driven on the expressway.
Keyword: Google Maps can now give you toll estimates