The 9.5-km Hosur Road elevated expressway on national highway-7, which had been inaugurated in January, witnessed huge traffic snarls on Wednesday.
Confusion and chaos were the order of the day, as toll was charged for the first time.
Soon after its inauguration, the expressway was open for free use for a few months.
Many people accustomed to travelling this route, which connects to Electronics City, were unaware of the toll coming into effect from Wednesday.
The queues for paying the toll in cash were long. Many vehicles spent over an hour in line.
There are other modes of collecting the toll, but few people were aware that special “on-board unit” chips or smart cards were available for regular commuters.
Official sources at the Bangalore Elevated Tollway Limited (BETL) said that even though emails had been sent to employees of companies located in the route notifying them of the commencement of the toll charges, many employees seemed ignorant of the fact that the toll was coming into effect from Wednesday.
The expressway has three different lanes — one for vehicles sporting the ‘on board unit’ sticker-chip, another for two-wheelers with smart cards, and a third for those (both four- and two-wheelers) wishing to pay the toll in cash. On Wednesday, nearly the full load of traffic on the route lined up to pay in cash.
Regular four-wheeler commuters, those using buses or cars, can pay Rs900 per month for the small sticker which says ‘on board unit’. This is an electronic pass, which could be stuck on the vehicle’s windshield. As the vehicle approaches the toll gate, its software recognises the chip, allowing the gate to open automatically.
Regular two-wheeler commuters can get their smart card for Rs360 per month; this card can be swiped to enter the expressway, and can only be used by two-wheeler riders.
The lane for those paying in cash is meant for those vehicles that do not regularly ply this route. It accommodates both four- and two-wheeler vehicles.
A regular commuter, Karna L, a software engineer, said, “The whole process was quite confusing today. Two of the lanes were closed to regular traffic, as only those with smart cards or ‘on board unit’ chips could use them. Almost all the traffic was thus forced to use the lane where payment was accepted in cash. It was so time-consuming.”
DCP traffic, BA Muthanna, said, “Once commuters get used to the system, the whole thing will stabilise.” However, one commuter said, “There ought to be the option of paying with a debit card too.”
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