Oakland CA. $3 Toll Looms for All Cars

Halloween Heralds Last Day of $1 FasTrak(TM) Discount

OAKLAND, Calif., Oct. 26 -- Motorists who use FasTrak(TM) transponders to pay their tolls on Bay Area bridges soon will see something new on their quarterly statements: a $3 charge for crossing any of the region's seven state-owned toll bridges. While drivers in two-axle vehicles who pay cash to cross the Antioch, Benicia-Martinez, Carquinez, Dumbarton, Richmond-San Rafael, San Mateo-Hayward or San Francisco-Oakland Bay bridges have been paying $3 since a voter-approved toll increase went into effect July 1, FasTrak(TM) users have enjoyed a four-month reprieve with tolls of just $2. But come Monday, the $3 toll will be charged for all two-axle cars and light trucks, regardless of the method of payment.

The Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC), in its role as the Bay Area Toll Authority (BATA) authorized the temporary $1 discount through October 31 as an incentive for motorists to use FasTrak(TM). More than 80,000 Bay Area drivers signed up for FasTrak(TM) after the discount program was announced in late April.

"Motorists who crossed a bridge each day for the four-month period that the discount was offered saved over $100 by using FasTrak(TM)," noted Rod McMillan, manager of Bridge and Highway Operations for MTC.

Motorists can sign up for FasTrak(TM) and get more information about the electronic toll collection program by visiting the Bay Area traveler information Web site, http://www.www.511.org/ . Applications also can be ordered from the FasTrak(TM) customer service center by telephone at 888-725-TRAK (8725). Motorists who open an account will be sent (within 7 to 10 business days) a free FasTrak(TM) transponder, which is generally affixed to a vehicle's windshield.

The $1 toll increase was approved on March 2, 2004, when by a 57 percent to 43 percent margin, voters in the region passed Regional Measure 2 (RM 2). The $1 toll increase will raise approximately $125 million a year to fund a comprehensive program of projects to relieve congestion and expand transit service in the vicinity of bridge corridors. MTC will administer the revenues from the toll increase and oversee the package of traffic-relief projects the increase will fund.

NOTE: Tolls on the Golden Gate Bridge remain as currently set: $4 for FasTrak(TM) users and $5 for motorists who pay in cash. More information on the Golden Gate Bridge toll structure is available at http://www.goldengate.org/ .