Bengaluru: Drivers using service roads near highway tolls have expressed their outrage as they are being charged toll fees despite regulations stating otherwise. Cameras at toll booths are capturing the vehicles on service roads, and toll charges are being deducted based on this footage.

On May 17, around 8:15 a.m., a vehicle owner took the Anchepalya Service Road from Bangalore to Tumkur Road to drop his daughter at college. Twenty minutes after crossing the service road, he received a notification about a toll payment deduction. When he revisited the toll booth three hours later to inquire about the deduction, he was met with hostility and was told to take up the issue at the head office, an impractical solution given the cost of travel. The vehicle owner reported this was not an isolated incident, with toll fees being deducted over 20 times in a month for using the service road.

Harish, a travel business owner, also shared his frustration, stating, “We are charged Rs. 30 each time, even when using the service road. This has happened multiple times in a month.”
Auto driver Parasurama echoed these sentiments, stating, “Cameras at the toll capture our vehicles on the service road, and they deduct the toll fees based on that. This is a huge injustice. Toll staff are acting like rowdies. We strongly condemn this unfair practice.”

According to highway regulations, vehicles on service roads should not be subjected to toll charges. However, the company managing the toll near the Anche palya has been deducting toll fees from service road users as well. The affected drivers are calling for the National Highway Authority to intervene and address this violation of toll regulations.