The Ministry of Road Transport & Highways (MoRTH) launched a standalone digital guide for highway users. Harnessing the power of technology, the MoRTH, with the help of the NHAI, has paved the way for a first-of-its-kind highway-utility mobile application – Sukhad Yatra – to safeguard motorists and enhance their experience on national highways in India.
The NHAI, with the assistance of ComVision (India) Pvt Ltd, designed and developed the application with a built-in GPS system that provides location-specific information on the availability of civic amenities on national highways.
The highway-utility mobile application helps users locate nearby Toll gates and facilities such as restaurants, ATMs, hospitals, fuel stations, and a ton others. Users can pinpoint Toll complexes with the click of a button. The application gives real-time data including the expected halting time at Toll plazas, and also enables commuters to pay their Toll fees digitally.
The Sukhad Yatra application provides FASTag stickers for Electronic Toll Collection (ETC) at Toll plazas, using which users can pay their Toll taxes electronically before reaching the gates, or instantly upon crossing dedicated ETC lanes.
The mobile application has embedded in it seven utility tools – Nearby Toll Plaza(s), Toll Plaza Enroute, Buy FASTag, Know Your Highway, Report An Issue, Report Summary, Near By, and Rate Us. The Toll Plaza Enroute tool helps users to locate all the Toll booths along with their destination on highways and check the applicable tariffs instantly on their mobile phones.
The NHAI’s app complements the Centre’s Digital India initiative. It also harmonises the NHAI’s Wayside Amenities project by helping locate nearby amenities along national highways, and ETC through FASTags.
Motorists, who find it difficult in following signboards and road markings, can make use of Know Your Highway feature, in Sukhad Yatra application, which enables users to locate their current highway coordinates and get satellite-enabled suggestions on the quickest route to travel between two stations.
Using Sukhad Yatra, commuters can register their complaints, issues, and grievances digitally. The user complaints are processed immediately for redressal and are stored in the centralised database.
The highway services application – Sukhad Yatra – gives its users the access to post their feedback through its Report Summary and Rate Us feature. Further, to this, the user can view and track the status of their complaint effectively within the application.
Augmenting the commuter experience with its standalone features – Sukhad Yatra has already drawn 40,000 user-downloads within the first week of its launch. The application is being downloaded by 250 persons on an average according to the most recent analytics. Sukhad Yatra is getting overwhelming responses and positive user reviews. Sukhad Yatra’s user-base is projected to grow rapidly in coming days.
Providing real-time data, Sukhad Yatra application eases commuter’s journey on highways. The application gives information on Toll plazas, brings transparency in Toll payments, enhances the commuter experience, avail emergency at the time of crisis, locate nearby amenities and registers the roads and highways issue from the commuter directly.
Accelerating the NHAI’s ongoing projects, Sukhad Yatra plays a vital role in government’s drive to digitalise the public sector. This application acts as an effective medium between public and people; an opportunity for the government to hear concerns and problems people face on roads and highways.
Sukhad Yatra is available for download on both Apple and Google Play stores.