Petrol and diesel prices may have come down marginally in the past couple of months, but toll charges in Mumbai will go up from October 1.
Motorists will have to pay between 15% and 17% more at the five main entry points to the city, beginning from the night of September 30-October 1.
In real terms, light motor vehicles that currently pay Rs30 will be charged Rs35 and there is a similar increase in the toll charges for all other categories of vehicles.
The prices of monthly passes will also go up. The current charge of Rs1,200 for monthly passes through any of the entry points will be revised to Rs1,400. The monthly pass through a single entry point now available for Rs1,000 will cost Rs1,165.
The increased charges will pinch motorists driving daily to Navi Mumbai, Thane, Kalyan-Dombivali, Mira-Bhayander, Vasai, and other places outside Mumbai.
Public buses will also have to pay the increased toll charges and this would be an additional burden on the BEST, MSRTC, Thane Municipal Transport, Navi Mumbai Municipal Transport, Mira-Bhayander Municipal Transport, as their bus services run through these toll centres.
The toll posts are at Dahisar, Mulund (on LBS Road), Mulund (on the Eastern Express Highway), Airoli Bridge and Vashi.
"As per a notification issued by the state government in September 2002 and vetted by the Supreme Court, the toll will be hiked every three years. The next toll hike at these five centres will be on October 1, 2017," said Jayant Mhaiskar, managing director of Mumbai Entry Points, which is the toll collection agency.
