What Exactly Has Changed?
The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has amended the National Highways Fee Rules from 2008. The change specifically targets how toll is calculated on 'complex' highway sections—those that include expensive and lengthy structures like bridges, tunnels,
flyovers, or elevated roads. Previously, the system could lead to disproportionately high tolls on these stretches. The new rule, effective since July 2026, directs the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) to use a new calculation method designed to be fairer and often cheaper for commuters.
The Old System and Why It Needed a Fix
To understand the change, you first need to know how things worked before. To recover the high costs of building and maintaining major structures, the toll system treated them differently from regular flat roads. The length of a bridge or tunnel was often multiplied by a factor of ten to determine the 'chargeable distance'. So, a 2-kilometre tunnel could be charged as if it were a 20-kilometre road. This method was meant to ensure costs were recovered but sometimes resulted in very high tolls, especially on routes with many such structures, as there was no upper limit or cap.
The Two New Calculations Explained
The new policy mandates a comparison between two different calculation methods, with the final toll being based on whichever formula results in a lower chargeable distance. Let's break down the two options: 1. Method One: Takes the length of the structure (e.g., a bridge) and multiplies it by ten, then adds the length of the remaining regular highway section. 2. Method Two: Takes the total length of the entire highway section (including the structure) and multiplies it by five. The NHAI will now calculate both figures and use the smaller of the two to determine the toll. This introduces a crucial cap that was missing before, preventing the chargeable distance from becoming excessively large. It's important to note that structures less than 60 metres long are not treated separately under this formula.
A Real-World Example
This might sound complicated, so let's use an example provided in the official notification. Imagine a 40-kilometre highway section that consists of 30 kilometres of bridges and 10 kilometres of normal road. Old method (uncapped): The chargeable distance would be (30 km of structures x 10) + 10 km of road = 310 km. New Method One: (30 km x 10) + 10 km = 310 km. * New Method Two: (Total 40 km section) x 5 = 200 km. Under the new rule, the authorities must choose the lower figure. So, the toll would be based on a distance of 200 km instead of 310 km, a significant reduction. This change will primarily benefit users of highways with a high proportion of elevated corridors, tunnels, and long bridges.
The Goal: Balancing Cost Recovery and Affordability
The government's stated aim with this revision is to strike a better balance. Building and maintaining complex infrastructure is undeniably expensive, and user fees are necessary to fund these projects and their upkeep. However, the previous system was sometimes perceived as unfair, potentially discouraging the use of these modern, efficient highways. By capping the potential toll, the new policy aims to make travel more affordable and uniform, which could encourage more traffic onto these routes, reduce congestion on older roads, and lower overall transportation costs for both individuals and commercial operators.
