[AshvinKumar]

Hi,

I want to know what is the general Toll System in our country.

There is a new Toll Road (Madhya Kailash - Siruseri; OMR) in chennai where they charge you when you are enternig and also while exiting.

Suppose i enter through booth A and go till a place B which is actually before the exit booth C and then i exit through booth A itself, they charge while entering and also exiting

A sample representation is like this

|A|----------->B----|C|
|A|<-----------B----|C|

And the entry ticket clearly states that it is valid till mid-night of that day.
When questioned they say that charge is per trip and not per round trip.

I am confused here because, a trip is considered a round trip only when one enters, exits and then re-enters with in the same day right?

Is this the normal practice?

Ashvin

[Technocrat]

a trip is considered a round trip only when one enters, exits and then re-enters with in the same day right?

No, One entry(From point A) & one exit(From Point A) is one round trip.

A->B is one way trip

[itsmevivek]

Even i have to pay the toll twice everyday... I dont have any choice as that is the only route available for me to reach office... On inquiring they have told to talk to the toll officer in the toll office on OMR... May be if quite a lot of people raise concerns, they might change it...

The worst part is i pay the toll twice for using the OMR for a stretch of 0.5KM one way... while people using from Madya Kailash to Toll booth(some 7-8kms) dont have to pay anything even though the toll is collected for laying and maintaining that 7-8kms stretch of road too....

[Mission_Safari]

The OMR toll works slightly differently than most other toll plazas that i have heard of.

Attached is the pic showing the toll plazas on the OMR. (pic source: TNRDC website)

Toll for Car is Rs.17 and this is for a single trip. (i.e) if you enter through one toll plaza and exit through another toll plaza , all you need to pay is 17Rs. But in case you want to enter and exit through the same plaza then you must pay 17 + 17 for entry and exit respectively.

[Technocrat]

On a related note, always try to check for return toll ticket price if you plan to return the same day as its often cheaper than the price of two one way tickets

[Mission_Safari]

Originally Posted by Technocrat

On a related note, always try to check for return toll ticket price if you plan to return the same day as its often cheaper than the price of two one way tickets

Techno, They don't have a return ticket concept on any of these five toll plazas.

Here is the link on the toll rates

:: ITEL ::

[Technocrat]

Yeah not all Toll roads have them & thats why I said that check if its there & also if its cheaper

[diwa]

I think there is a monthly pass which is available and should be cheaper. Plus you can do multiple trips. ECR road this is available and am sure about OMR.

[Mission_Safari]

Originally Posted by diwa

I think there is a monthly pass which is available and should be cheaper. Plus you can do multiple trips. ECR road this is available and am sure about OMR.

They do have a 50/100 trips pass valid for 90 days. But again two trips will be deducted from this when you use the same plaza for entry and exit. Although these passes are cheap they aren't significantly cheap.

[supremeBaleno]

Originally Posted by AshvinKumar

Suppose i enter through booth A and go till a place B which is actually before the exit booth C and then i exit through booth A itself, they charge while entering and also exiting

I know that there are lots of people like you who think this is not right, but then that's how it works. Take the ECR toll for instance. Mayajaal complex is just 500ms from the toll gate. So if you go to Mayajaal to see a movie, you need to pay a toll and while returning also you have to pay toll.

But, there is a solution to this which I use on the OMR, but whether it could be used by you will depend on where you stay. Let me explain.

My office is at Thoraipakkam which is between the 2 main toll gates on OMR. So, in the mornings, I come via MadhyaKailash/Perungudi on the OMR, take a 17/- ticket and go to work. Since it is valid for 24 hours, it means I can use it to exit from any of the other gates within that time duration.

So, in the evenings, I return via the 100 feet road (opposite DB Jain college), show the morning's ticket, which they now mark as 'exit' and return home via Velachery-Saidapet, T.Nagar etc. Distance for me via both routes is almost same - 21-odd kms 1 way.

Only disadvantage is that on the return route, there is some flyover construction and also the road is not as fun to drive as the ramrod straight stretch from Thoraipakkam to M.Kailash. But it saves Rs17 daily. So...

[shaunak_aus82]

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno

I know that there are lots of people like you who think this is not right, but then that's how it works. Take the ECR toll for instance. Mayajaal complex is just 500ms from the toll gate. So if you go to Mayajaal to see a movie, you need to pay a toll and while returning also you have to pay toll.
----
Only disadvantage is that on the return route, there is some flyover construction and also the road is not as fun to drive as the ramrod straight stretch from Thoraipakkam to M.Kailash. But it saves Rs17 daily. So...

@Supremer Baleno: Good idea indeed. It saves Rs. 17/- no doubt, but since the road's not good, we will have to drive in lower gears.... average goes down. What say ?

[DWind]

Also, please note that OMR toll system has a concept Zero toll ticket that can be used to travel between Satellite 3 and Satellite 2 toll plaza. Very useful if one wants to travel from Tambaram to ECR side.

[supremeBaleno]

Originally Posted by shaunak_aus82

It saves Rs. 17/- no doubt, but since the road's not good, we will have to drive in lower gears.... average goes down. What say ?

Even though I have not really compared my FE on both routes, I would think that it really would not matter because only a small stretch of the road is bad - at one intersection there is a flyover under construction - so for some 500ms the road is so-so. I do the whole stretch at 4th / 5th gear (the Baleno's gearing & torque do help), except for the bad part.

Actually, it is even possible that I get more FE on my return route, because since the road is not well-lit like the OMR, I tend to drive cautiously @ around 60-70kmph or so, while on the OMR, you tend to floor the throttle - 100-120kmph is easy.

[manolin]

Originally Posted by Mission_Safari

Techno, They don't have a return ticket concept on any of these five toll plazas.

Here is the link on the toll rates

:: ITEL ::

I recently went to Navi Mumbai from Bombay and had to pay toll twice - while entering and exiting. It is ridiculous. Is it standard? Does anyone who works in Navi Mumbai and stays in bombay have to do this everyday.

[Technocrat]

Its not ridiculous, its standard, you use the road twice & hence pay the toll twice. Daily commuters take monthly passes.