Mumbai, Oct. 1 -- Starting Thursday, toll rates at Mumbai's five entry points will increase by 20%. The new rates will be applicable on mini buses, light commercial vehicles, trucks, buses and heavy motor vehicles, while light motor vehicles, school buses and state transport buses will be exempted from paying the levy, as per an October 14, 2024 order. The five entry points where toll is collected are Vashi (Sion-Panvel Highway), Mulund (LBS Road and Eastern Express Highway), Airoli Bridge and Dahisar (Western Express Highway). At Atal Setu, the sixth entry point into the city, toll is charged separately. Mumbai Entry Points Limited, which holds the rights for toll collection on behalf of the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC), had last revised the rates on October 1, 2023. The rates were Rs.75 for mini buses and light commercial vehicles, Rs.150 for trucks and buses and Rs.180 for heavy motor vehicles; these have now been revised to Rs.90, Rs.180 and Rs.225, respectively. Toll collection at the five entry points into the city began in September 2002, was extended in 2010, and scheduled to continue till November 2026. But the deadline was extended till September 17, 2029 to offset the Rs.900 crore compensation owed to the contractor for waiving toll for passenger cars and small vehicles in 2024, in the run up to the assembly polls. Then chief minister Eknath Shinde had provided the waiver without studying the compensatory mechanism or its financial effect on the already burdened state exchequer....