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.
Published: September, 2004
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.
