The Menace of Toll Booths

Today’s Times of India (New Delhi Edition) (28.10.2011) bears a small news item in its News Digest section on the first pagewhich goes like this:

“DND Flyway raises toll: The toll for the DND flyway will be increased by Rs 2 for cars (Rs 22) and Re 1 for two-wheelers (Rs 11) from November 2.”

This 26 word news item caught my eye and led me to think on a few parallel streams of thought.

1. The government has raised the toll on one of the busiest roads that connects Delhi to Noida – its UP cousin. What is the point of including Noida in the NCR if one has to pay toll to go from one end of the city to another?
   
2. The amount of increase in toll – Rs 2 for cars and Re 1 for two wheelers… is that convenient? Every day, thousands of motor vehicles would pass the flyway and eventually clash with the toll booth operators over the unavailability of small change… Most Indian travelers seem to be equipped only with notes of denominations Rs 100 and Rs 500 when they step out of their homes. In such a scenario (and with the government treating coins as outcast) how would the toll booth operator manage to return Rs 478 and Rs 89 to every other motorist? Add to that the extra time taken to return all the change. Wouldn’t it have been more convenient to increase the tax by a round figure? Oh no!!! That would most certainly have added to the large number of issues that Anna Hazare seems to be fasting for. So what is the way out?
   
3. Every day, when my father goes out to Gurgaon for work, he seems to enjoy the drive through the four-lane Gurgaon Expressway except for one sore point: The Toll Collection Booth. Many-a-times, he has to spend more time waiting at the booth than on the entire expressway itself. Is that fair? The toll booth figures as a separate time consumption factor in most of our travel plans… is that fair indeed?
   
4. I remember, while I was in Mumbai, there was this bridge built over the Vashi Creek. It had been over 10 years since the creek was built and toll was being levied on every user since day 1 of its construction. The purpose of every Toll Booth is to ensure proper upkeep of the structure and ensure that the cost borne by the government during its construction is met. Over such a long period with its immense footfall of over a lakh vehicles per day, the government must most certainly have recovered the cost of building the bridge many times over. Why is it still levying the toll? To add to the discomfiture of the daily user?
   
5. On a recent tour to Chandigarh from Delhi, I was amused by the abundance of Toll Collection Booths on the Highway. The GT Road is the oldest and the longest National Highway in India. It was built by the Muslim Ruler Sher Shah Suri during the 15-16^th Century. All money spent on its construction must definitely have been recovered (The Britishers must definitely have looted India of much more money than that). The current renovation work that is going on has been on since ages (if locals are to be believed). Also, the purpose of the renovation is said to be: increase in average speed on the Delhi-Jalandhar Corridor. I don’t see how putting seven-eight Toll Booths on a 300 km corridor can serve to decrease average time and increase average speed of the vehicles.
   
6. As far as national income is concerned, doesn’t our government know that we Indians (in fact nowhere in the world) do not switch off our engines at toll booths (of all places). And so, in fact when our vehicles stop in large queues of vehicles to pay toll, the amount of money wasted in the form of petrol far exceeds the total earnings of the toll booth. Also, the government has in fact to pay the salary of the toll booth operators, which further increases expenses.

Well, I have listed down a few problems… Is there any solution? Am I proposing the shutting down of all toll booths? Yes, I am. But, the government does need funds for all the developmental work it does for us-the citizens of India… Where does it get the money from then? That’s the big question we need to ask ourselves.

I think I may have an answer to that too. As a responsible citizen of India, I pay a lot of taxes (a lot more than any other citizen of the world) in the form of Income Tax, VAT, Sales Tax, Excise et al. In that list of taxes, is another tax called the ROAD TAX. I have to pay a certain amount as Road Tax every time I buy a new vehicle. It is a one-time tax to be paid ONLY when I buy a new vehicle off the store. How can this one-time Tax compensate for the daily inflow of revenue you may ask. My answer, if required, increase the amount payable as road tax and then invest it, the interest would definitely meet your revenue requirements. Increasing Taxes!!!! What about Anna-Calypse??? In India, a car is still viewed as a luxury item by most people. Buying a car means you belong to a more niche category of consumers. Already, the cheapest car in the World- TATA Nano is at least worth Rs 1.2 lakhs. Increasing a few thousands for a one time investment won’t hurt the ‘niche Indian Consumer’ as much, I am sure.

Isn’t this a nice alternative to the daily nuisance that we see in front of our eyes at every highway and fly over in the country? An increase in the one-time taxation can lead to a decline in the chaos we see around us (something F1 Champ Sebastian Vettel calls ‘organised chaos’). Isn’t this something desirable?

P.S. All views expressed in the article above are the author’s personal views. Any factual errors in the same are a result of his limited knowledge of the world which he seeks to improve by reading your valuable comments.