Electronic toll system launched at Padma Bridge

Experimental Electronic Toll System (ETC) program has been started at Padma Bridge. The program started on Wednesday morning at the smart booth toll plaza at Mawa end of the bridge.

Toll will be collected automatically through radio frequency identification (RFID) in one lane at both ends of the bridge. There will be no need for cash transactions and no vehicles will have to stop at toll plazas. When any registered vehicle comes in front of the toll plaza, automatic toll will be collected through robotic cameras. It will take 2 to 3 seconds.

Bridge Secretary Md Manjur Hossain said Korean Expressway Corporation, which is in charge of toll collection, is setting up the booths. For automated toll payment, special radio frequency identification (RFID) cards need to be affixed to the windshield of vehicles. Automatic tolling system will automatically deduct the toll from the pre-paid card through Fast Track. Vehicles must have Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) approved RFID tags for digital payments.

He said, ‘This toll collection program will continue as an experiment for now. The activities will start in full swing soon. We are trying to introduce four systems to cross the bridge. These are – cashless, touch and go, cash, use of credit and debit cards.’

He further said that a registration booth has been opened to bring the vehicles under the smart toll system. Anyone can register from here.