The Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) President Mian Anjum Nisar has called for stopping double toll collection on the Faisalabad-Pindi Bhattian motorway (M-3), suggesting the government to shift the second toll plaza to somewhere else, as it is unjust to charge extra tax in the same area.
He said that the purpose of the motorway is to make travel faster and safer but the government is doing otherwise and inviting the public anger. He said that the government has been collecting toll tax from interchange to interchange and the motorists have been paying it without any complaint although the rates of the toll are increased frequently.
He said that the travelers had to wait for hours for their turn to pay the toll due to manual way of tax collection.
Mian Anjum Nisar lamented that instead of facilitating the motorists the National Highway Authority is making the travel difficult even on the motorways. He also quoted the businessmen as complaining of waiting for hours in the queue to pay the toll on the recently reactivated toll plaza, which would increase the fuel consumption of vehicles and waste of time.
If the motorists would wait for hours on the motorway then what is the difference between the GT Road and motorway. The National Highways Authority (NHA) should introduce a mechanism and announce categorically that the vehicles having no required balance in their E-card would not be allowed to run on the motorway.
He said that erection of two toll plazas on a distance of just two kilometers does not make sense, as the toll has been charged from the motorists from the Pindi Bhattian interchange, which is just two kilometers from the earlier toll plaza, besides creating traffic mess for commuters.
He said that the double toll plazas in the same vicinity result into a constant traffic jam in the area where the motorists have to wait for a long time to pay toll while travelling on the motorway. He termed toll collection in long queues in the middle of the road an unwise decision. He observed that practice of receiving tolls on the motorway in the past has proved to be a failure but the same exercise has again been started, which should be condemned. Moreover, there are more chances of accidents due to the long queue on the motorway to pay toll in the middle of the road.
Post a Comment