The electronic toll collection system using RFID has been a tremendous success in India. It was first launched in 2014 as a pilot project in India, and later in 2019, it became mandatory for all vehicle owners to get a FASTag, an RFID tag, for toll collection at toll plazas on national highways, Expressways, and other state-owned highways.
RFID-based toll collection is a popular electronic toll collection system in many countries, and in India, too, it is quite successful and easy to use. According to a report by Business Standard, the RFID-based toll collection via FASTag has resulted in a gain of 8000 crores in India. The Union Road and Transport Minister in India also mentioned that he expects an additional gain of 10,000 crores with the expansion of the FASTag toll collection system in India.
If FASTag is highly successful, why is a satellite-based tolling system being considered, and how does it compare to current and emerging technologies, such as ANPR?
Let me explain in detail what the Satellite-based Tolling System is and how it is not the same as Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) that is to be combined with RFID Toll Collection via FASTag.
Satellite-based Tolling System in India
The proposed satellite-based toll collection, as proposed in India, is going to use a satellite navigation system to track vehicles via GPS tracking and calculate tolls for vehicles as they pass any toll plaza. However, it is not in the works yet.
If implemented, the satellite-based toll collection would completely replace the RFID FASTag-based tolling system in India and only utilize GPS-based vehicle tracking and the location of toll plazas on the vehicle route.
Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR)-based Toll Collection
Instead of satellite-based toll collection, the government of India is going to use ANPR, which combines FASTag as well.
Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) as part of barrierless tolling will use high-quality machine vision cameras that can capture vehicle number plates while allowing vehicles to pass through toll plazas without stopping.
As per official reports, to enable seamless, barrier-free movement of vehicles through toll plazas and reduce travel time, the ANPR-FASTag-based Barrier-Less Tolling System will be implemented at selected toll plazas.
ANPR Technology Will Not Replace the RFID FASTag Tolling System
As per the official report, as stated above, there is no plan to replace the FASTag-based toll collection system that currently works. The Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) uses cameras and AI software to identify the license plate only, but toll collection will happen through FASTag.
Multiple analyses and government reporting attribute dramatic drops in toll-queue times after FASTag became widespread. The average waiting times have come down from many minutes to under a minute at many plazas due to FASTag. And that is why it is only logical to combine the ANPR and FASTag and not replace it.
FASTag has also boosted transparency in toll collection, allowing users to pay tolls digitally, where a digital trail is present for each toll collection, and it becomes easier to audit the entire process.
Key Types of Automatic Toll Collection Used by Countries
1.RFID / DSRC / FASTag (Lane-mounted RFID Readers)
Vehicles carry a radio tag (FASTag in India) affixed to the windshield. Lane readers (RFID antennas) read the tag as the vehicle passes, and the toll amount is debited from the linked account via the NETC (National Electronic Toll Collection) ecosystem.
It offers several benefits, such as fast reads at lanes, low-latency, interoperable nationwide when implemented well, and mature payments integration. However, tagless or defective tags, tag cloning/duplicates, lane-blockage if enforcement is physical, dependence on issuer interoperability, etc., are some of the problems that are present in this RFID-based toll collection solution.
2. Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) / Camera-based
In ANPR, high-speed cameras capture images of license plates; OCR/ANPR software extracts plate text and matches it against a vehicle database (VAHAN/FASTag) to bill, send e-challans, or flag exceptions. This solution is often paired with motion sensors to trigger capture.
The ANPR-based toll collection works without in-vehicle hardware; useful for enforcement (no-tag vehicles), applies to two-wheelers and vehicles without tags; supports forensic evidence, multi-lane coverage as well.
Some key issues that one might encounter are number plate visibility, say in winters when a city like Delhi struggles with fog and smog; non-standard or damaged plates, environmental factors (fog, glare), privacy & data-retention policy needs.
3. GNSS / Satellite-based tolling (location-based tolling)
Another very popular toll collection method is navigation satellite-based, where vehicle position is tracked using GNSS (GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, etc.). Tolling rules are applied based on geofences/km traveled, and charges are deducted from an account.
This method of toll collection enables distance-based charging, zone-based pricing, and removal of physical toll plazas for barrier-free flow. However, it requires continuous positioning (battery/data), anti-spoofing, accuracy in urban canyons, privacy concerns, and significant back-end reconciliation. Implementation and policy complexity are high.
4. Mobile-app / QR / NFC hybrid approaches
In this type of approach, the user scans a QR, taps NFC, or uses an app to authenticate and pay. Usually used for parking or low-volume lanes rather than high-speed expressway tolling.
Such a solution requires low infrastructure, less cost, and offers familiar payment flows, but it is not practical for high-speed national highway tolling without barriers to ensure scan completion.
Why combine FASTag + ANPR + GNSS? The Hybrid Case
A hybrid system combining more than one technology, say RFID FASTag, ANPR, and satellite-based toll collection, leverages the strengths of each technology and mitigates their weaknesses.
This is how it can ensure an efficient toll collection:
1. Vehicle approaches toll corridor. Lane RFID reader scans FASTag; if successful, the transaction is debited, and barrier-free passage is recorded.
2. ANPR camera captures license plate in parallel; plate and FASTag ID are cross-checked in real time to detect mismatches (e.g., cloned tag or wrong vehicle).
3. If the FASTag read fails, ANPR triggers billing via VAHAN/FASTag back-end and either charges the linked FASTag if found or creates an e-challan/notice.
4. For distance-based segments, GNSS OBU provides trip logs to the tolling back-end; when combined with ANPR/FASTag data, reconciliation ensures the vehicle was physically on the tolled stretch (prevents spoofing).
5. Central reconciliation matches RFID transactions, ANPR captures, and GNSS logs to produce a single ledger entry per vehicle per tolling event.
In summary, FASTag has delivered substantial operational improvements for India's tolling network. ANPR complements FASTag by addressing exceptions and enabling broader enforcement. While GNSS-based tolling presents future benefits, hybridizing technologies to unite their advantages is currently the most effective strategy for nationwide implementation.
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