Frequent incidents of Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (TNSTC) buses being stopped for failure to recharge FASTag at toll plazas on national highways have left commuters peeved.
In one such incident, around 50 commuters traveling from Thanjavur to Tiruchi had to wait for over an hour at the Vazhavanthankottai toll plaza on the Tiruchi-Thanjavur highway on Thursday. When the bus with registration number TN68 N1266 reached the Vazhavantankottai toll plaza around 7.30 am, the bus was stopped by personnel as the transport officer was unable to recharge the vehicle’s FASTag to undergo the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) electronic toll collection. had failed. System.
The personnel told the bus crew that they cannot allow the vehicle to pass until the FASTag is recharged. The crew members said that the matter was brought to the notice of the authorities and the FASTag would be recharged before the next journey. But the toll workers made it clear that they would not allow the bus to proceed.
The passengers got restless as the matter dragged on for more than 45 minutes. As he had a heated exchange with the crew members, who arranged for the passengers to pass through other TNSTC buses. But, a section of the passengers refused to accept the offer and remained in the bus. After a struggle of more than an hour, the TB vehicle was allowed to proceed.
“It was extremely disappointing. Passengers cannot be made to suffer for the fault of transport officials or others. It disrupted the schedule of many passengers,” said a passenger on the bus.
According to sources, this is not an isolated incident. Similar incidents of TNSTC buses stopping at toll plazas have happened here and there. This was on the rise after the introduction of the FASTag collection system at toll plazas.
‘technical fault’
When contacted, a senior TNSTC official in Tiruchi said Hindu A technical glitch on the digital recharge of FASTag was the main reason for the bus stop at the Vanthankottai toll plaza. Some banks took time to recharge the FASTag. The problem especially arose when special buses were operated. Efforts were made to ensure timely recharge of FASTag.