Authorities start mock crackdown, warning campaign as deadline approaches
The Islamabad Capital Territory Authority (ICTA) administration has launched a mock crackdown and warning campaign cautioning the commuters without M-Tags and directing them to get their cars ‘M-Tagged’ by January 15.
Deputy Commissioner of Islamabad Irfan Nawaz Memon who is also District Magistrate has announced that vehicles without M-Tags will not be allowed to enter Islamabad from January 15. The deadline has been extended from January 1 to provide additional time for motorists to comply with the requirement.
In a post on social media, Deputy Commissioner warned “Only 6 days left to register your vehicle [as] 141,657 vehicles registered so far, including 2,853 in the last 24 hours. After the deadline, vehicles without M-Tag will not be allowed entry into Islamabad, Please register now to avoid inconvenience.”
The decision has been taken to ensure smoother implementation of the electronic toll collection system and to avoid inconvenience to commuters during the initial phase. According to the spokesperson of the ICTA administration, all the M-Tag facilitation points established at various points of the federal capital have been working smoothly and recently three more centres were added making it a total 19 points.
The official said the restriction would apply to all private and commercial vehicles entering the federal capital through major entry and exit points, including those connected via motorways and highways. From January 15 onwards, vehicles lacking valid M-Tags will be stopped at toll plazas and entry points, and drivers will be asked to install the tag before proceeding further.
The M-Tag system enables electronic toll collection through RFID technology, allowing vehicles to pass through toll plazas without stopping for cash payments. Authorities believe the system will significantly reduce traffic congestion, save travel time, and improve transparency in toll revenue collection.
M-Tag is part of the efforts to transform Islamabad into first smart city of Pakistan with major upgrades to its Safe City project, integrating technology for improved public safety, traffic management, and citizen services like Rescue 1122 into a centralized system, starting with mandatory M-Tags for vehicles, etc.
