Ministry officials said the company has been told to launch an awareness campaign through which drivers can be educated on how best to navigate this stretch, to stick to lanes appropriate for them and also to shift to smart cards that does away with the manual process of stopping at the toll plaza to pay the tax.

The ministry has asked the company to immediately shift 50,000 commuters to the smart card mode. D S Constructions has also been instructed to put up bigger sign boards that can guide drivers to the right lanes.

A ministry official said, “D S Constructions has said that nearly 20,000 commuters have adopted the smart card mode but this number is too insignificant for peak time traffic. At peak hours, there are over 1.4 lakh passenger car units (PCUs) on the 27.7 kilometre stretch.” The company is looking at a figure of 80,000, with 2,000 smart card users being recruited every day. To create awareness, the company has been asked to advertise in the media.

General Manager of D S Constructions R Q Khan said the meeting was “constructive”. He said the company will take a fresh look at the ministry’s suggestions. He added there will be enhanced lane configurations in both directions, more marshals at the toll plaza to direct and manage traffic, helpers for toll collectors to speed up the process and also runners who will be ready with the exact change.

“We continue to make significant progress in registering commuters for smart tags,” he said.