FASTag snag halts E-Shivneri bus for 1 hour on Mumbai–Pune route

MumbaiPune commuters faced a stressful delay late Wednesday night after an MSRTC EShivneri bus was halted for nearly an hour at the Talegaon toll plaza over an alleged FASTag issue forcing passengers to collectively pay the toll to continue their journeyThe electric EShivneri bus MH 12 VF 5207 left Dadar around 5 pm for Pune via Thane and reached the Talegaon toll plaza at about 930 pm Toll staff reportedly stopped the bus claiming there was insufficient balance in its FASTag account and refused to let it proceedAs minutes stretched into an hour passengers questioned the driver who tried contacting senior officials and depot authorities According to passengers repeated calls went unanswered leaving them stranded at the toll plaza late at nightPassengers said repeated calls went unanswered leaving them stranded at the toll plaza late at night Representation PicXpriyapandey1999With no resolution in sight commuters eventually pooled money and paid around Rs 900 as toll charges The bus resumed its journey only around 1030 pmPassengers described the episode as mentally distressing especially since a sixmonthpregnant woman was among those on boardldquoPassengers buy tickets expecting a smooth journey FASTag compliance or toll issues should never become the passengersrsquo problem We plan to approach the consumer forum over this lapserdquo a group of commuters saidAnother passenger Sharayu Joshi said ldquoIt was a cold winter night with falling temperatures Stopping a public transport bus for over an hour over such an issue is completely unacceptablerdquoAn MSRTC official confirmed that a complaint had been received and an inquiry was underway ldquoEShivneri buses are tollexempt and should not be stopped at toll plazas The driver had informed the toll staff about this exemptionrdquo the official said adding that the driver has been called for clarificationOfficials also said toll operators are expected to be aware of exemptions applicable to EShivneri electric buses ldquoDespite this the bus was halted for over an hourrdquo the official notedThe spokesperson of IRB MP Expressway Pvt Ltd responding to midday said ldquoAs per the agreed process with the authorities and to prevent misuse of toll exemptions exemption for electric vehicles is allowed only through FASTag linked to the VAHAN vehicle database FASTag is mandatory for all vehicles and users are expected to keep it activeThe concessionaire IRB MP Expressway Pvt Ltd has no role in granting exemptions Its role is limited to validating FASTag at the toll plaza to allow vehicles to pass No amount is deducted from FASTag for electric vehicles with a valid and active FASTag However the concessionaire is required to collect toll as per prevailing rates from all vehicles with an inactive FASTag In the case at the Talegaon toll plaza on the MumbaindashPune Expressway the EShivneri bus had an inactive FASTag due to insufficient balance and was therefore allowed to pass only after paying the applicable tollrdquoThe official further stated that toll exemption for electric vehicles applies only on the MumbaiPune Expressway Samruddhi MahamarG and Atal Setu and not on any other highways including the Old MumbaiPune Highway NH48 Hence maintaining an active and valid FASTag is mandatory as per government guidelinesThis is not the first such incident on the MumbaiPune Expressway Earlier this year nine EShivneri buses were halted at Khalapur toll plaza for nearly 90 minutes due to FASTagrelated issues raising recurring concerns about coordination accountability and passenger welfare1HRTime bus halted