FasTrakTM
Processing Returns to Full Speed Toll Discount Sparks Runaway
Success
The
Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC), in its role as the Bay
Area Toll Authority (BATA), reported that motorists who open a
FasTrakTM account can once again expect to receive their electronic
toll collection transponders via U.S. mail within seven to ten
business days of application. Heavy enrollment during June and July
created a backlog at BATA’s FasTrakTM customer service center in
Concord and extended the processing time for many applications
submitted via mail or the Internet to 15 business days or longer.
The center’s volume of incoming phone calls remains exceptionally
high, leading many customers to receive a recorded message asking
them to call back later.
The recent surge in popularity of the FasTrakTM
system is driven in large part by the $1 toll discount available
through October 31 to drivers who use FasTrakTM to pay their tolls
on the Bay Area’s seven state-owned toll bridges. The discount went
into effect July 1—the same day cash tolls on these bridges rose $1
as a result of Regional Measure 2, the regional traffic relief plan
approved by Bay Area voters in March 2004.
“Demand for FasTrakTM has topped even the high
side of our projections,” said Rod McMillan, MTC’s Bridge and
Highway Operations Manager, explaining that MTC had expected the
temporary toll discount to spark a rise in the number of incoming
FasTrakTM applications to a range of 4,000 to 5,000 per week in
early July. MTC found itself underprepared for the tidal wave of
applications that swamped the customer service center. During the
last week of June, the Concord center received more than 19,000
applications.
“Over the long term, that’s good news for the
battle against congestion,” observed McMillan, “because it means a
lot fewer people will need to stop at toll plazas. But in the near
term, it’s led to some understandable frustration for drivers who
have been delayed in receiving their transponder, and haven’t been
able to get through on the phone to learn the reason for the delay.”
To
meet the demand for transponders, the FasTrakTM customer service
center hired 20 temporary staff members, and has been working seven
days a week to whittle down the backlog of unfulfilled account
applications. Motorists submitting an application today can expect
their transponders to go into the mail within seven business days,
and to receive their packages within ten business days. Motorists
who walk into the BATA FasTrakTM customer service center at 1849
Willow Pass Road in Concord will receive their transponders
immediately. Motorists also can apply online at www.511.org or order
applications by telephone at 888.725.TRAK (8725).
FasTrakTM is compatible on all Bay Area toll
bridges, including the seven state-owned bridges and the Golden Gate
Bridge, which is operated by the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and
Transportation District. To open a FasTrakTM account for use
primarily on the Golden Gate Bridge, drivers can call 877-442-8655,
visit www.enrollwithfastrak.com, or go in person to the center at 23
Reed Blvd. in Mill Valley. A combined regional FasTrakTM customer
service program that will service FasTrakTMaccounts for both
BATA and the GGBHTD is set to open in June 2005.
MTC is the transportation planning, financing, and
coordinating agency for the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area.