500,000th FasTrak(R) Customer Hits Bridge Toll Jackpot

Oakland Woman Wins $1,000 in Free Tolls

OAKLAND, Calif., May 17 -- Hundreds of toll-free trips to San Francisco for shopping and entertainment. East Bay insurance professional Stephanie Lymore-Alston figures that's one good way to use the $1,000 in free tolls she received this week from the Bay Area Toll Authority (BATA) in appreciation for opening the 500,000th FasTrak(R) electronic toll collection account in the nine-county region. BATA is a unit of the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC).

"I'd been thinking about FasTrak(R) for awhile," explained Lymore-Alston, who lives and works in Oakland, and typically travels across the Bay on weekends. "I kept seeing all those cars zooming past me while I waited in line to pay my toll. Then one night, my husband and I were going into the city with another couple who already had FasTrak(R). There was a big backup at the toll plaza, but we just cruised on through. I told myself right then and there, 'I am getting FasTrak(R).' That made all the difference."

Lymore-Alston got transponders for both her car and her husband's car when she opened her new FasTrak(R) account on May 16. "My husband's work sometimes requires him to drive across the bridge for meetings," she said. "So he'll use some of the free tolls. But mostly we'll use FasTrak(R) to have fun."

Although BATA officials are pleased to have crossed the 500,000th-customer mark, they hope to boost sign-ups even further with a new incentive program. Each day from May 15 through May 31, BATA is rewarding one randomly selected new FasTrak(R) customer with $100 in free tolls. Only those who enroll online at 511.org or bayareafastrak.org, or who open their accounts at the satellite FasTrak(R) customer service center at the Bay Bridge toll plaza administration building through Sunday, May 21, are eligible for the $100 bonus. Winners are announced daily during the 5 p.m. hour on KFOG-104.5 FM.

The temporary satellite customer service center at the Bay Bridge toll plaza administration building allows customers who have an active e-mail address and open their accounts with a credit card to immediately pick up a FasTrak(R) transponder. The satellite customer service center is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays, and from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.

The FasTrak(R) marketing push began last week when BATA released for review and comment a comprehensive plan to expand and improve the electronic toll collection program. A combination of financial incentives, infrastructure improvements and customer service upgrades are intended to help boost the percentage of motorists who use FasTrak(R) to pay their tolls on the region's seven state-owned toll bridges to 70 percent during peak weekday commute periods and 50 percent on weekends. These usage levels already are seen on the Golden Gate Bridge. As the FasTrak(R) marketing campaign gears up in the months ahead, BATA is expected to test a program beginning this August for distributing FasTrak(R) transponders at select retail stores around the Bay Area.

The BATA Oversight Committee will vote on the proposed FasTrak(R) Strategic Plan at its next meeting on June 14. If approved by the committee, the draft plan would be considered by the full Bay Area Toll Authority at its June 28 meeting. The Strategic Plan can be downloaded from MTC's Web site at www.mtc.ca.gov. Comments on the Plan can be submitted by sending an email to info@mtc.ca.gov.

MTC is the transportation planning, financing and coordinating agency for the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area. BATA, which is directed by the same policy board as MTC, administers toll revenues from the Bay Area's seven state-owned toll bridges.