With a toll increase on the Bay Area’s seven state-owned bridges going into effect July 1, thousands more drivers are opting to get on the FasTrak®.
By John Goodwin
Published: July, 2010
With a toll increase on the Bay Area’s seven state-owned bridges going into effect July 1, thousands more drivers are opting to get on the FasTrak®. Enrollment in the region’s prepaid toll collection program has surged in recent weeks, with more than 4,000 new customers receiving electronic toll tags during the first full week of June — an 80 percent jump from the 2,200 new enrollees registered in the first week of May.
To meet the growing demand for FasTrak toll tags, the Bay Area Toll Authority (BATA) this spring expanded its FasTrak retail distribution network to include more than 125 Walgreens stores around the region. FasTrak toll tags also are available at some 100 Safeway supermarkets and two dozen Costco warehouses. New customers who pick up a FasTrak toll tag at a participating retailer by July 15 can get up to $10 in free tolls. A complete list of participating locations is available on the FasTrak Web site at bayareafastrak.org.
“With the toll tags available at Walgreens, Costco and Safeway, FasTrak enrollment becomes a lot more convenient for a lot more people,” said Napa County Supervisor and Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) member Bill Dodd, who chairs the BATA Oversight Committee. “And convenience is really what FasTrak is all about. Because FasTrak customers prepay their tolls, they don’t have to stop to pay cash at a toll booth. The correct toll is deducted electronically from a customer’s prepaid account when they pass through the toll plaza. Having the tags available at Walgreens is especially timely for carpool commuters because they will have to use FasTrak to qualify for the new discounted carpool toll that begins July 1.”
New Toll for Carpools, Congestion Pricing on Bay Bridge
The new $2.50 carpool toll, which is half of the new $5 regular toll (and a $3.50 discount off the new $6 peak-period toll on the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge), will be assessed for carpool vehicles that cross the region’s state-owned toll bridges in designated carpool lanes on weekdays from 5 a.m. to 10 a.m. and from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. With the recent lane restriping on the approaches to the Richmond-San Rafael and Antioch bridges, dedicated carpool lanes are now available at the toll plazas at all seven state-owned toll bridges. A new $3 carpool toll (half the regular $6 cash toll) also goes into effect at the Golden Gate Bridge, which is owned and operated by a separate agency, the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District. Carpoolers at the Golden Gate Bridge must pay their toll with FasTrak and must stop briefly at a toll booth for an attendant to verify the vehicle’s occupancy.
July 1 also will mark the debut of congestion pricing — also known as time-of-day pricing — on the Bay Bridge, which is by far the region’s busiest toll bridge. Beginning July 1, auto tolls on the Bay Bridge will vary from $4 during weekday off-peak hours, to $5 all day on Saturdays and Sundays, and to $6 from 5 a.m. to 10 a.m. and from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays. The regular auto toll will rise to $5 from the current $4 at all times on the six other state-owned toll bridges: the Antioch, Benicia-Martinez, Carquinez, Dumbarton, Richmond-San Rafael and San Mateo-Hayward bridges.
BATA began distributing FasTrak toll tags through Costco warehouses and Safeway stores in 2007 as part of a comprehensive plan to expand and improve electronic toll collection in the Bay Area. Currently, there are more than 900,000 FasTrak account holders in the nine-county region. During peak periods, FasTrak-equipped vehicles account for more than 60 percent of peak-period traffic on Bay Area toll bridges. FasTrak can be used in all lanes at all Bay Area toll plazas.
BATA, which is directed by the same policy board as the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC), administers toll revenues from the Bay Area’s seven state-owned toll bridges. Toll revenues from the Golden Gate Bridge are administered by the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District, which joined with BATA to operate a single regional FasTrak® customer service center in San Francisco.
John Goodwin is a Public Information Officer for the Metropolitan Transportation Commission and the Bay Area Toll Authority.
