The government is unlikely to introduce a unified electronic toll collection (ETC) system across the country's toll bridges before the Eid-ul-Azha travel rush, as different bridge-owning agencies continue to operate incompatible tolling technologies and payment systems.
Officials said the lack of integration among electronic toll collection platforms, software and RFID systems has made it difficult to establish a seamless automatic tolling network that would allow vehicles to pass through booths without stopping.
Several key toll facilities across the country are operated by different agencies, including the Roads and Highways Department (RHD), the Bangladesh Bridge Authority (BBA) and the Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC).
Major toll points include the Meghna and Meghna-Gumti bridges, Padma Multipurpose Bridge, Jamuna Bridge and the Jatrabari Flyover.
Although RHD and BBA have introduced electronic toll payment in selected lanes, the systems remain fragmented.
Sources said BBA alone uses four separate systems for its four toll facilities, while tolls at the Jatrabari Flyover and Dhaka Elevated Expressway are still collected mainly manually.
According to RHD data, electronic toll collection has so far been introduced at 15 of its 71 toll bridges to facilitate cashless transactions and reduce waiting times.
The BBA oversees the Padma, Jamuna and Muktarpur bridges, as well as the Dhaka Elevated Expressway, which is being operated by two Chinese-led private companies.
Different toll booths are also managed by separate operators.
Officials said the prime minister, during a meeting on Dhaka's traffic congestion on March 24, directed authorities to improve toll management systems.
Following the directive, BBA and the Local Government Engineering Department (LGED), under which the private operators of the Jatrabari Flyover and Dhaka Elevated Expressway function, introduced a combination of electronic and manual toll collection systems.
However, sources said except for some RHD bridges, most electronic tolling systems are incompatible and cannot be integrated quickly enough to ensure a fully automated and hassle-free toll collection service before Eid.
Due to the absence of a uniform system, vehicles registered for electronic toll payment at one bridge cannot use the same registration at another toll facility.
Amid the growing concerns, the government formed a 13-member committee headed by the secretary of the Bridges Division following another meeting on traffic congestion on May 14.
The committee includes representatives from RHD, LGED, the Public Works Department and ICT experts.
It has been tasked with preparing recommendations to bring all toll systems under a single integrated platform and submitting a report to the prime minister by June.
At its first meeting on Monday, the committee also formed a technical sub-committee to inspect toll bridges and roads, including the Padma Bridge and the Meghna-Gumti bridges.
Officials said the committee will also examine the Dhaka-Mawa-Bhanga expressway corridor to assess how its toll collection system can be integrated into a centralised network.
Mohammad Abdur Rouf, secretary of the Bridges Division, said integrating all systems would take time because of differences in operators, RFID technologies and software platforms.
"We are seriously working to bring all the systems under one umbrella," he told The Financial Express over phone.
smunima@yahoo.com
