National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has deployed more than 5,100 women staff during day shifts to manage toll booths across over 1,140 toll plazas on the country’s National Highways and Expressway network.
The deployment of women staff at toll plazas aims to promote gender inclusivity while improving service quality and user experience for commuters traveling on national highways.
Through this initiative, NHAI seeks to foster an efficient, empathetic, and user-friendly environment for highway users. The authority believes that increasing the presence of women staff at toll plazas can significantly improve interactions with commuters and reduce the likelihood of disputes at toll fee plazas across the National Highway network.
The decision to deploy women staff at toll plazas was taken following detailed deliberations with various stakeholders. These discussions involved toll plaza operators and major industry associations such as the National Highways Builder Federation (NHBF), the Highway Operators Association of India (HOAI), and the All India User Fee Contractors Federation (AIUCF).
After consultations, all toll operators unanimously agreed to deploy women personnel during daytime shifts for user fee collection at toll plazas across the national highway network.
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Women Staff at Toll Plazas: Creating Job Opportunities in Remote Locations
Currently, more than 5,100 women employees are already working at toll booths. NHAI expects this number to grow further as additional female staff members join toll operations in the coming months.
The authority will continue to closely monitor the implementation of the program to ensure compliance and smooth functioning across toll plazas.
The initiative is also expected to generate employment opportunities for women, particularly those from rural and semi-urban regions. NHAI aims to strengthen women’s participation in the national highway infrastructure ecosystem while simultaneously creating job opportunities in remote locations.
As part of the women staff at toll plazas initiative, NHAI will facilitate specialized training for the deployed female staff. The training will particularly focus on women recruited from rural areas to help them effectively perform operational responsibilities at toll plazas.
The training modules will cover key areas such as courteous behavior with National Highway users, handling emergency situations, basic safety protocols, and ensuring efficient toll plaza operations.
This structured capacity-building approach is designed to improve service quality while maintaining a safe and professional working environment for the deployed workforce.
