National Highway 08: Toll Plaza Scam!

[YogiPunto]

Hi Petrolheads,

I am Yogesh Jadhav from Pune. I love my red hot Fiat GP. Long drives is my life and automobiles is my passion. Here is my first post. Its about my experience on NH8 last week. Any feedback, ideas to improve my posts always welcome !

While travelling through various toll plazas during my recent Pune-Surat drive, I came across a different type of scam happening quite regularly on our national highways.
I am one of those who feels good when I receive the toll-receipt quickly, because then I can hit the highway yet again & restart cruising at 120 mark. I used to appreciate toll guy at counter for his efficiency when receiving the receipt in no time.

But wait, is this really toll-guy efficiency or is there anything brewing here ? Yes, there is something brewing !

The way they carry out this innocent looking scam is - The guy at the Toll counter keeps some extra receipts which were generated for previous vehicles. He should either be printing extra once or keeping some older once. Most of the toll receipts don't have vehicle number printed on them. They just mention amount, vehicle type and date-time when the toll was paid. The toll counter guy takes the money from us and hands us one of those older receipt. We feel good because of his instantaneous response. The guys standing beside the toll-counter for no reason (but to hurry us to start the vehicle) does his job. If we start checking the receipt, the standing guy(who does nothing) starts hurrying us, deviates us from the receipt and we hit the highway preserving that fake receipt for further reference.

I have paid the toll. But who received it ? I think its the government. Then I start thinking why most of the roads are still not up to the mark even after receiving heavy sums of toll by lacks of vehicles daily? We all know only one reason... Our government is corrupt.. Our government sucks.. etc !

But did the government(or whoever maintains the highways) really receive that toll ..?.... May be NOT ! There are middlemen involved in this.. There are common people who work at toll plazas who are taking disadvantage of their position at the toll counters.. This is affecting our government.. this is affecting our roads.. this is affecting our country.
If we want the roads to be maintained properly, then we need PAY THE TOLL !! And we also need to make sure that we are receiving the legitimate receipt of the amount.

Lets not hurry at the Toll-plazas. Lets check the receipts, at least for the correct date and timestamp. If there is any irregularity in date/time/vehicle type/number etc, lets question the toll guy. He is bound to answer that. Its his job. Lets stop this scam ! Lets make & keep our highways world class !

 

[cruiser]

Good initiative yogi and thanks for the info too, as i frequently travel on this route and have never checked this, so next time i travel will surely do. And besides scam the number of toll plazas are more than needed like say every 50km there is a toll you have to pay and that too its a hefty amount and they have kept this amount increasing only. This should not be the case i think. They should take toll like on border of maharashtra and gujrat or so instead every main junction there is a toll, i think that is also a type of scam.

 

[anshuman8]

I did not understand, if they hand over a receipt to you even if it is generated earlier, how does it mean cheating. Unless if some one did not collect his receipt and same was handed over to you.

BTW the toll is collected by the company who built the highway and not government. So if these collectors pocket the money, they will in turn cheat these construction companies.

 

[JohnyBoy]

.. Unless if some one did not collect his receipt and same was handed over to you.
...

Exactly that's what happens. Some, if not most people don't bother about receipts. Another possibility is the toll teller charging less if the traveller doesn't insist on receipt. This may work very well with frequent traveller esp taxi guys.

BTW the toll is collected by the company who built the highway and not government. So if these collectors pocket the money, they will in turn cheat these construction companies.

Toll collection is done by a different company who cheats the construction company who cheats the government who passes the 'loss' to us :)

 

[amit1km]

In some toll plaza, they will give a pack of biscuit instead of 5 rupees saying that, they do not have change. I never buzz at that, I have always got the 5 rupees. This is I may say a scam of giving biscuit instead of rupees.If you will insist of giving the rupees then they will give.

 

[JohnyBoy]

In some toll plaza, they will give a pack of biscuit instead of 5 rupees saying that, they do not have change. I never buzz at that, I have always got the 5 rupees. This is I may say a scam of giving biscuit instead of rupees.If you will insist of giving the rupees then they will give.

I don't think this is any scam. Chocolate for 1 Re, Halls for 50ps is usual practice by local shops also.
There is genuine scarcity of coins everywhere. I have a friend who runs a shop and he says he 'buys' change and he pays Rs 5-10 for change for Rs 100. It means he gets 90 rupees in coins when he pay 100 rupees.

 

[priyadarshi06]

I guess the mentioned practice is not a scam.The Toll plaza maintains their business by count of the Boom barriers how many times they were opened and closed

Yes the scam can happen if they pass 2 vehicles with a single opening without hitting the open button.Else it is normal to have some pre printed receipts to allow quick passing of vehicles

 

[amit1km]

I don't think this is any scam. Chocolate for 1 Re, Halls for 50ps is usual practice by local shops also.
There is genuine scarcity of coins everywhere. I have a friend who runs a shop and he says he 'buys' change and he pays Rs 5-10 for change for Rs 100. It means he gets 90 rupees in coins when he pay 100 rupees.

I would agree with you if I can also trade with that chocolate or biscuit with somebody. Can you purchase something with that chocolate from the same shop.

Do you buy something which you don't need.

It may be my opinion and my thinking.

With that chocolate I am also paying the profit to the shop.But if I would get money, then I would not have to share any profit with the shop.So I would consider it is my loss.

 

[JohnyBoy]

I would agree with you if I can also trade with that chocolate or biscuit with somebody. Can you purchase something with that chocolate from the same shop.

Do you buy something which you don't need.

It may be my opinion and my thinking.

With that chocolate I am also paying the profit to the shop.But if I would get money, then I would not have to share any profit with the shop.So I would consider it is my loss.

Amit, completely agree with you. Getting back the 1Re or 5 Rs is better than biscuits/chocolates.
But this is not a scam to steal money from you like in the case the OP mentioned.

 

[jeno_turbo]

Though OP has mentioned one of the Scam going on. He has for sure opened a very obvious thing we have to realize. I have seen toll gate guys taking 20 instead of 40, but without the Bill/Slip. But that was a couple of years back. Now i don't even see a single toll where this happens (chennai - kanyakumari ) At least from what i see .

But the real problem is, we have been taken for granted by whoever built/maintains the road. They are for sure getting huge sums but i don't think they are doing their job well. If you see Chennai - Trichy road is full of patches and not work the money we pay. Again, the Madurai By Pass(rs 50 for just 30-40 kms) is so pathetic that they have to pay us for the damage inflicted on our vehicles. Madurai to Kanyaumari is good. but thats because of low road traffic and the roads are relatively new. But isnt it their duty to maintain the way it was built ? And i see half of the reflectors missing too . In a financial perspective im Pretty sure they are getting their money back at a very good pace.

I have no solution which i can think off. But there should be, and we should take the necessary steps to make those companies who took the contract value us. And i think probably the quality control department should be bribed. Any other possibilities ?

 

[Superbad]

offlate, with wired transfer of salaries and the increase of the use of ATMs, the circulation of coins in distribution has dried up.

along with that, heard stories that the coins were smuggled to bangladesh etc to make blades(cannot verify).

the advanced receipt is generated to reduce the overall wait time.
there is a general conception brewing that toll nakas built up on highways, do not save fuel, but end up losing up more fuel due to increase in stoppage times.

 

[Vishwas]

I was a victim of this toll scam once. We friends were returning from Tumkur to Bangalore and took the toll road, when we hit the last toll (dasarahalli), we paid the money and he gave us the receipt quickly, we took it and moved on, then my friend asked to check the receipt whether it was correct or not, and to my surprise the vehicle number mentioned was not of ours!

Henceforth, no matter how long it takes to be in the toll nor the vehicle behind honks, i have decided to check the toll receipt thoroughly and then proceed. Please make it a habit to read the receipt carefully guys.

 

[JohnyBoy]

I guess the mentioned practice is not a scam.The Toll plaza maintains their business by count of the Boom barriers how many times they were opened and closed
...

This is not the case in most tolls between Mumbai and Bangalore (NH4). I have been asked more than once to give a lift to 1 or 2 of their staff and in return no toll to be paid. More than once.
I have noticed the boom barrier working 100% time on few toll booths including Vashi bridge and Airoli bridge.

 

[sethumurugan]

Though OP has mentioned one of the Scam going on. He has for sure opened a very obvious thing we have to realize. I have seen toll gate guys taking 20 instead of 40, but without the Bill/Slip. But that was a couple of years back. Now i don't even see a single toll where this happens (chennai - kanyakumari ) At least from what i see .

But the real problem is, we have been taken for granted by whoever built/maintains the road. They are for sure getting huge sums but i don't think they are doing their job well. If you see Chennai - Trichy road is full of patches and not work the money we pay. Again, the Madurai By Pass(rs 50 for just 30-40 kms) is so pathetic that they have to pay us for the damage inflicted on our vehicles. Madurai to Kanyaumari is good. but thats because of low road traffic and the roads are relatively new. But isnt it their duty to maintain the way it was built ? And i see half of the reflectors missing too . In a financial perspective im Pretty sure they are getting their money back at a very good pace.

I have no solution which i can think off. But there should be, and we should take the necessary steps to make those companies who took the contract value us. And i think probably the quality control department should be bribed. Any other possibilities ?

100% true. The amount we are paying as TOLL is really worthless. Check out Chennai to vellore road. So many patches.

Ya I know that madurai bye-pass. (Am really feeling bad to say that me to from madurai)

 

[saroya]

Increasing no. Of tolls are really discouraging peoples to drive four Wheelers. These people are looting the country. Roads are not maintained well. I have to pay rs. 170 for 90 kms drive to another district . Half of the road is full of potholes. The toll should be collected in a way that one should need to pay once in a day at first toll plaza and the receipt should be used as a pass at all other toll points.