San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
Golden Gate Bridge toll may surpass $11
North Bay motorists who use FasTrak transponders could soon spend up to $11.25 per vehicle to cross the Golden Gate Bridge, under new proposals to raise toll fees.
The Golden Gate Bridge, Highway & Transportation District, which oversees the namesake bridge and bus and ferry transit from the North Bay to San Francisco, is considering four increases to narrow a steep budget gap.
Unlike BART, Caltrain or Muni, the Golden Gate district is the only transit agency in the Bay Area that depends on people driving their cars to pay for transit service. But, like those other agencies, the district projects a steep “fiscal cliff” once it runs out of federal and state subsidies that paid for operations during the pandemic.
Car traffic on the iconic bridge has plateaued at about 85% of 2019 levels — when more than 50,000 crossed the bridge on weekdays — losing the
agency up to $30 million annually in bridge toll revenue. Telework and hybrid work has dampened demand for bridge travel to San Francisco, and the district forecasts a $220 million deficit over the next five years.
The Golden Gate district, last July, raised FasTrak bridge tolls to $8.75 per car as part of a plan approved in 2019 to raise tolls annually for five years. The toll fee was $7 per vehicle in 2018.
The Golden Gate transportation board in March will consider adopting another
five-year plan to gradually raise tolls through 2028. The first toll increases would take effect July 1, if board members sign off on any of the four plans.
The first option, 50-cent annual increases, would make the district the most money and bring in $139 million over five years. This means tolls on July 1 would rise to $9.25 for FasTrak users, who pay the cheapest rate. By July 2028, these commuters would pay $11.25 to cross the Golden Gate Bridge’s toll gantries, while invoice drivers who pay the highest rate would pay $12.25 per vehicle.
The district is also considering annual toll increases of 40 cents ($10.75 toll for FasTrak users in 2028), 35 cents ($10.50) and 4% ($10.65).
None of the four plans would fully cover the district’s projected $220 million deficit.
“I was a little bit shaken by the fact that anything we do is only half of the shortfall,” board member Barbara Pahre, who represents Napa County, said at a recent committee meeting. “It’s not just about tolls, it’s about cinching our belts a little bit. This might end up being the easy part.”
The Golden Gate district and the region’s transit agencies plan to ask voters to pass a tax measure in 2026 that would subsidize transit service and could help further narrow the district’s shortfall.