Time is money: Toll roads get smarter

These cards will eliminate the need for cash handling. A receiver will read the card and clear the way automatically. It will also tell commuters their balance amount, much like a pre-paid cellphone card.

‘‘We are going in for smart cards, which are a standard in many other countries. The entire Golden Quadrilateral will be covered by the plan to start with,’’ said a senior Nhai official in charge of the 5,400-km GQ.

Nhai has worked out a range of benefits for toll road users from the shift to smart cards from cash. It will drastically shorten processing time, eliminate the inconvenience of bills and coins and lower maintenance costs, said Nhai officials. ‘‘Commuters will only have to swipe the contactless card and not have to stand in queue,’’ said the Nhai Member.

According to a pre-feasibility study by the World Bank, time and cost savings on the GQ, which links the four metros is worth Rs 8,000 annually. The savings will accrue to road users, once the project is complete, by way of less wear and tear to vehicles, lower fuel consumption and actual time savings. The Bank’s figure also accounts for toll road user charges.

Hence, the time lost by commuters as they stand in the endless queues, amounts to actual money lost for the GQ’s executors.