Bus travel on national highways may become more affordable soon.
Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari announced that his ministry is working on a new toll policy aimed at benefiting both state-run and private bus operators.
To make highway travel smoother, the government has introduced a Fastag-based annual pass for non-commercial private vehicles like cars, jeeps, and vans.
The pass costs Rs 3,000 and became active on August 15.
It will be valid for one year or 200 trips, whichever comes first, from the date of activation.
At an event, Gadkari also said the government is identifying 10 key highway stretches across India to operate green hydrogen-powered trucks in an effort to reduce vehicle pollution.
Some of these routes include:
Greater Noida–Delhi–Agra
Bhubaneswar–Puri–Konark
Ahmedabad–Vadodara–Surat
Sahibabad–Faridabad–Delhi
Jamshedpur–Kalinganagar
Thiruvananthapuram–Kochi
Jamnagar–Ahmedabad
To support this, India Oil and Reliance Petroleum will set up hydrogen filling stations along these routes.
Meanwhile, companies like Tata Motors, Ashok Leyland, and Volvo have already started making hydrogen-powered trucks.
Additionally, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) is developing 750 roadside facilities on private land.
