The Indian government has decided to reduce toll charges significantly on national highways that include large structures. This change aims to ease travel costs for commuters and promote more highway use.
The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) officially notified the new rule on July 2, 2025. It has updated the National Highways Fee Rules (2008) to introduce a better method for calculating tolls.
What Has Changed?
Earlier, motorists had to pay 10 times the regular rate for each kilometre that included tunnels, bridges, flyovers, or elevated corridors. This made travel expensive, especially on stretches full of such structures.
Now, under the revised rule, the toll will be based on the lower of two values:
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Ten times the length of the structure(s) plus the remaining stretch of the highway (excluding those structures),
OR -
Five times the total length of the full highway section, including the structures.
As the notification clearly states, “Structure” means an independent bridge, tunnel, flyover or elevated highway.”
How Does It Benefit Drivers?
To show the difference, the ministry gave an example. Suppose a 40-kilometre stretch consists entirely of elevated or structured sections. Under the old rule, toll would be charged for 400 kilometres (10 × 40 km). But now, under the new rule, it will be charged for 200 kilometres (5 × 40 km). As a result, drivers will pay half the toll.
Why the Government Took This Step
The government recognized that current toll rates on structured roads were too high. Elevated roads, tunnels, and bridges require more money to build and maintain. Therefore, the tolls were higher.
However, the burden on road users also increased.
To fix this, the ministry revised the fee formula. A senior official from NHAI explained, “This move is designed to rationalize toll collection and provide relief to road users while maintaining a balance between infrastructure cost recovery and affordability.”
What This Means for Travelers
This new rule is expected to bring big savings for commuters. It will also encourage people to use national highways more often.
Moreover, people driving through areas with long bridges, flyovers, or tunnels will see lower toll bills. The reform is part of the government’s broader plan to make travel more affordable, while still recovering costs of large infrastructure.
In short, the government wants to support both road users and infrastructure development — and this new toll formula is a step in that direction.