Toll plazas at Bay Area bridges often mean long, time-consuming lines for drivers who don't carpool. A much-anticipated solution, electronic toll collection, has seemed to move as slowly as one of those lines. Electronic toll collection frees drivers from using money or discount tickets to pay tolls. Instead, a transponder (a small electronic device, about the size of a deck of playing cards) is mounted on the vehicle, usually inside the windshield. As the vehicle approaches the tollbooth, the transponder is read by an antenna, and the correct toll is deducted from the transponder user's account. Vehicles never stop, but move at 5 mph through the tollbooth area and are on their way.
Officials at the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District pioneered the development of electronic toll collection in the early 1970s, and conducted extensive research and development until 1990. Although $1 million had been budgeted by the district in 1990 for purchasing a system, a state law passed that year required Caltrans to prepare specifications for all California bridges and toll roads, including the Golden Gate Bridge. Caltrans has been testing the FasTrak electronic toll collection system on the Carquinez Bridge for two years, and in October 1998 the Golden Gate Bridge District awarded a contract for a new toll system designed to be compatible with systems on other Caltrans toll facilities. The Golden Gate Bridge system is planned for implementation in June 2000.
Many drivers around the region are eagerly awaiting the opportunity to use electronic toll collection. Carquinez Bridge users are enthusiastic, and the potential demand on the Golden Gate Bridge is shown by the number of drivers—over 8,000—wishing to sign up for transponders when the system is ready to operate.
FasTrak will replace the use of Golden Gate Bridge discount ticket books; books will not be sold 30 days after the start-up date, and tickets will not be accepted 90 days after start-up. Initially, users will receive the same discount on bridge tolls ($2.67 instead of the full $3). No discount is available for vehicles with more than two axles, which pay $1.50 per axle. Carpools will continue to be free, but carpool drivers with transponders must use manual toll collection lanes to avoid having the toll deducted from the user's account.
Golden Gate Bridge officials anticipate that FasTrak will be used by more drivers than used the ticket books; the estimate for FasTrak is 35% of morning commuters, 22,000 vehicles between 6:00-10:00 am. After the first year of operation, the district will review the operation costs to determine whether the discount rate needs to be adjusted to avoid financial losses to the district. Potential losses according to one estimate could be as much as $13.7 million in toll revenue over the first 10 years of the program, a significant impact given the projected expenses the district faces for such bridge projects as the seismic upgrade and a public safety railing.
FasTrak accounts are prepaid, usually by credit card, although cash and check transactions are possible. Account holders who use a credit card are able to obtain up to three transponders per account with no deposit for the devices. After the initial prepayment, a credit card account is replenished automatically whenever the balance falls below a threshold based on the average usage of the transponder. Users paying by cash or check must replenish their accounts by mail or in person when they receive a message at the toll lanes which says "Low Balance".
Drivers are asked to open their accounts with Caltrans or the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District based on which bridge is used most frequently, although FasTrak transponders work on any bridge or toll highway in the state which uses electronic toll collection. Procedures such as payment and deposits will vary between the bridge district and Caltrans FasTrak accounts.
The Bridge District's project, built by InTrans Group of New York, combines installation of the FasTrak system with an upgrade in manual toll collection equipment. The budget is $7.9 million, funded from Golden Gate Bridge toll revenue. Initially, all 11 toll collection lanes will be designated as "All Vehicles" and used for both FasTrak and manual toll collection. When at least 35% of peak-hour commute transactions are being made with FasTrak, dedicated lanes will be opened for FasTrak users, with more lanes available as usage increases. (The bridge has 13 lanes, with 2 dedicated to free northbound traffic; other toll lanes are converted to the free direction as needed during peak commute periods.)
Combined with the new manual toll collection equipment, FasTrak will move drivers out of long lines at the toll plaza as the Golden Gate Bridge District moves forward into the next century.
Leslie Stewart
For more information:
Mary Currie, 415/257-4548; mcurrie@goldengate.org; http://www.goldengatebridge.org/commuter/TollInfoFAQ.html
Caltrans FasTrak program, FasTrak Service Center, 1-888-725-TRAK