National highway toll collections climbed to roughly Rs 6,640 crore in October, marking an increase of approximately 16% over the Rs 5,715 crore recorded during the same month last year. The surge surpassed the prior peak of Rs 6,185 crore established in May, leading officials to project total toll revenue of approximately Rs 74,000 crore based on ongoing trends. Meanwhile, travelers increasingly shifted to digital options, including FASTag Annual Passes and Unified Payments Interface channels, resulting in a dramatic drop in physical cash collection.
Key points
Government directives aim to eliminate cash transactions entirely to curb plaza malpracti…: Government directives aim to eliminate cash transactions entirely to curb plaza malpractices and reduce manual operations.
Strong economic activity and expanded electronic tolling options have positioned full-yea…: Strong economic activity and expanded electronic tolling options have positioned full-year revenue projections around Rs 74,000 crore.
Digital alternatives such as FASTag Annual Passes and UPI are rapidly becoming the primar…: Digital alternatives such as FASTag Annual Passes and UPI are rapidly becoming the primary payment methods on national expressways.
Sources checked by our analysis pipeline: 1
NEW DELHI: Toll collection on national highways and expressways touched an all-time high of around Rs 6,640 crore in Oct, indicating stronger economic activity and increased movement of vehicles across the country's highway network.
The collection of user fee was around 16% higher than the Rs 5,715 crore recorded in Oct 2025. The previous highest monthly toll revenue was Rs 6,185 crore, collected in May this year. Going by the trend, the total toll collection is projected to be around Rs 74,000 crore, officials said.
A significant change was also visible in the mode of payment, with cash collections dropping sharply to barely Rs 4 crore last month from Rs 84 crore in the corresponding month last year. At the same time, payments through the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) rose to around Rs 100 crore in Oct, against no such collection a year ago.
The sharp decline in cash transactions follows govt directions to move away from cash payments for highway user fees and use FASTag or UPI as the default modes for paying the user charge. Officials said stricter…
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