The state will stop staffing bridge toll booths on seven Bay Area bridges starting at midnight Friday and suspend collecting cash.
The toll suspension is being enacted “to minimize toll collectors’ and toll-paying customers’ risk of exposure to Covid-19 during the current public health emergency,” officials said in an announcement.
Following a request from Gov. Gavin Newsom, Caltrans and the Bay Area Toll Authority have decided to shift to all-electronic toll collections on the Antioch, Benicia-Martinez, Carquinez, Dumbarton, Richmond-San Rafael, San Francisco-Oakland Bay and San Mateo bridges.
The Golden Gate Bridge adopted all-electronic tolling in 2013.
Drivers who normally stop at a booth to pay cash are advised to continue through the toll plaza without stopping.
Automated, high-speed cameras will capture images of customers’ license plates, and the FasTrak customer service center will process the images and then mail a toll notice to the address at which the vehicle is registered with the DMV. While these notices will include a heading that reads “Toll Violation Notice,” these transactions will not be considered violations and the amount due on each notice will be for the toll amount only.
The FasTrak customer service center will waive all toll violation penalties during the period in which cash collection is suspended, and also will suspend the escalation of penalties for previous unpaid toll crossings.
This will include a temporary halt to referrals to the DMV for a hold on vehicle registration after a second toll violation notice has gone unpaid.
Caltrans encourages toll bridge customers who do not already have FasTrak accounts to open accounts online at www.bayareafastrak.org or by phone at 1-877-229-8655 (BAY-TOLL).
Customers of Costco or Walgreens may obtain a FasTrak toll tag at these stores and then activate their new accounts online.
photo credit: Metropolitan Transportation Commission
The tolls were supposed to be temporary. How about you stop gouging us, CA
Yes they were supposed to be temporary, but if all total stopped how would they get money for the maintenance on the bridges?
Robert, maintenance on the bridges would have be paid for through road use taxes like any other road. It is just another classic example of the saying; “there’s nothing more permenent than a tempory tax”.
You put us all in a stay home, shelter in place and now take the tolls off the bridges. I may just have to go for a drive.
They aren’t taking the tolls off.
You still have to pay the toll.
Qyincy. No tolls? Read the article. You will be sent a bill in the mail. The bridges aren’t free.
There nothing I want to see in SF that’s worth the $7 bridge toll. I used to go to the symphony, but that area around Civic Center is so crappy I don’t even go to the symphony anymore.
Ooops, I should have read it more closely before making my comment. I thought that they were waving the toll fees but I see that’s not the case.
Since virtually everyone using the bridges for the next few weeks will be an “essential” worker, why not suspend the tolls full stop? Everyone else won’t be earning money anyway, so come on, do your part!
REALLY good point, Liz! Brilliant idea…I hope they hear this.
Totally agree!!! A trickle of commuters, many people not even getting a paycheck. Lift the tolls!!!
Not free, eliminating handling cash get fastrak or they’ll bill you via your license plate
The article’s headline is misleading. A headline of “Cash Toll Collection To Be By Mail On Seven Bay Area Bridges” is accurate.
That’s you opinion.
I believe the headline (any headline) serves its purpose very well. It gets you to question it which leads one to read the article. The article is very informative too. If you didn’t read the article then you wouldn’t know that you could purchase FastTrak at Costco either.
We are hit with these type of headlines all day. I also believe you didn’t think about what you read (like many readers) It specifically refers to CASH that would not be collected.
Just having fun while we all wait it out.
People shouldn’t be using cash for anything unless they have no other option. It’s a possible vector for spreading the virus. I had to get supplies yesterday for the coming week, and was shocked how many people were buying their groceries and cleaning supplies with cash. Have consideration for the cashiers that have to handle the money.
I hope that this isn’t the beginning of the end for toll booth workers.
Once a process is in place to collect bridge tolls without the workers, I’m concerned that these workers will be short lived.
In case you haven’t heard, toll takers at the Bay Bridge are in the process of being replaced by FasTrak. The Golden Gate Bridge is already completely free of toll takers.
The area bridges were all going this direction very soon anyway. I hope the bills are one statement monthly and not one per toll.
This took a lot longer to implement than I thought. I never understood why so many people insisted on using the cash lanes, especially since the Benicia Bridge instituted the high speed toll lanes.
We still have our FasTrak for when we visit the Bay Area. It doesn’t cost anything when we aren’t using it, and we avoid the fee that rental car companies charge for tolls.
I always get a kick on TV shows set in the Bay Area like FX’s “Devs” that they only show the western span of the Bay Bridge but given the picture above of the world’s most expensive bridge it ain’t that picturesque.
That said it shouldn’t have ever taken that long to replace the eastern span and it would have cost far less. That’s what you’re paying for, the mistakes of the “fumblebumbs”.
For what we paid for it that new span looks sad.
Someday they will go to total electronic collection on all bridges. There are tens of thousands of commuters who still pay cash every day at the toll booths. Why? Get a fast track. It’s so much easier and more convenient! I think some people think the fastrack is used to spy on them and they can be tracked! 🤪😂 (No, it can’t track you!)
These are the same people that use GPS in their car! 😂
Most likely people who have to cross bridges daily do have FastTrak but what about the people who seldom ever need to cross the bridge? That’s why they kept toll collectors around.