islamabad - Motorists returning to the federal capital from their home towns after long weekend on Sunday night and Monday morning had to wait in long queues at Islamabad Toll Plaza.
Long queues of vehicles at the Islamabad Toll Plaza after four-day holiday created a lot of trouble, a car driver returning from Mianwali
Sunday night told here Tuesday. He said he had to wait in the long line for almost an hour to make an exit after paying the toll tax amount at Islamabad Toll Plaza. A motorist coming from Lahore said that time saved by travelling on Motorway instead of Grand Trunk Road (N-5) was wasted at the Islamabad Toll Plaza. He said that he has experienced the similar situation in the past after returning after Eidul Fitr and Eidul Azha holidays.
When contacted an official of NHA told APP that the authority was aware of the problems being faced by the motorists on such occasions and took all possible measures to save the motorists from such a situation. He said that the NHA had started an expansion project at toll plaza some three years ago but the owner of the land got a stay from the court and expansion work was halted.
On Sunday night and Monday morning, he said maximum number of lanes were opened for incoming traffic and additional makeshift booths were set up to speed up the toll collection process and facilitate the motorists.
Moreover the NHA official said that the facility of electronic tag system was available to avoid the rush at toll plazas, so the motorists should install the e-tag chip in their vehicles to save themselves from the inconvenience.
The e-toll system saves time and motorists as well as transporters can avoid long queues by procuring e-tag instead obtaining entry cards and payment of toll as with e-tag, motorists just pass through the toll plaza and toll is deducted from their e-tag account automatically.
However after the introduction of m-tag, those who had e-tag failed to
avail the facility. Those who had acquired m-tag also had to stay in the long qeueus to reach e or m-tag exit during this period. e-tag is only operative at Faisalabad and Peshawar while for Lahore and Islamabad/Rawalpindi only m-tag is operative at present. Launched in collaboration with the National Database Registration
Authority (NADRA), in the first phase e-toll system was made available for motorists using Peshawar, Islamabad and Lahore toll plazas for entry and exit.
He said that so far the facility has been made available on 15 toll plazas of the motorway. These toll plazas include Fatehjang, Brahma Jhang Bahtar, Burhan, Ghazi, Swabi and Rashakai interchanges on Peshawar-Islamabad Motorway; Balkasar, Kot Abdul Malik, Kala Shah Kaku and Sheikhupura interchanges on Islamabad-Lahore Motorway; and Faisalabad interchange on Pindi Bhattian-Faisalabad Motorway.
He said that electronic tags are available at Peshawar, Islamabad and Lahore toll plazas. Those who want to purchase the chip are required to submit full particulars about their person and the registration papers of the vehicle.
The staff posted at the toll plazas for selling the tag registers all such details in their system and the motorists are issued the chips which they have to install on the top or front of their vehicles.
The computerized system of the NHA automatically reads the chip when they pass through the toll plazas, letting them pass by lifting the bar and giving an automatic green signal.
The e-toll system deducts the toll amount electronically from the accounts of the motorists.