The Bengaluru–Chennai Expressway is partially open but causing headaches for commuters due to frequent toll plaza glitches. The expressway, meant to cut travel time to under three hours, has 71 km ready out of 262 km. The problem mainly strikes at fully automated toll booths, especially near Agrahara. Many drivers face FASTag errors that block the toll barriers. Ravikumar, a regular user, said, "Often, the FASTag lane malfunctions and vehicles pile up quickly. Since there are no staff stationed at the toll booths, motorists are left honking for several minutes. Eventually, someone comes out from a nearby control room with a handheld scanner to manually read the FASTag. Only after that does the barricade open. By then, several precious minutes are already lost." Commuter Pavan Rao shared his experience: "I was able to reach Bengaluru from KGF in about 50 minutes, a journey that usually takes around one-and-a-half hours. However, the benefit was offset by a 25-minute delay near the Agrahara toll plaza." Rao added that a vehicle ahead had an unrecharged or blacklisted FASTag, delaying everyone behind it. He said, "The authorities need to understand that a fully automated barrier without adequate on-ground human support can turn into chaos. At the same time, motorists must also take responsibility and ensure their FASTags are recharged on time, as one person’s lapse ends up affecting dozens of others." The expressway runs from Hoskote in Karnataka to Sriperumbudur in Tamil Nadu. It will offer a faster alternative to the current 340-km route, which takes about six hours due to traffic and congestion. NHAI officials have not yet responded to questions about the toll plaza issues or the lack of staff at automated booths. In a recent Rajya Sabha reply, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said that six-laning works on NH-48 and NH-44 covering about 318 km are underway, with 287 km completed. Also, four expressway projects spanning 106 km, costing ₹5,976 crore, are in progress.