Press Releases

For Immediate Release

FasTrak® Transponders Available Now at Bay Bridge Toll Plaza

Temporary Satellite Center Open Today Through Dec. 21

Contact:

Rod McMillan, BATA/MTC, 510.817.5860
John Goodwin, BATA/MTC, 510.817.5862
Jeff Weiss, Caltrans, 510.286.5543

OAKLAND, Calif., Dec. 5, 2005…Looking for a great stocking stuffer? How about a free FasTrak® electronic toll collection transponders? The Bay Area Toll Authority (BATA) and the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) today will open a temporary FasTrak® Customer Service Center in the administration building at the Bay Bridge toll plaza to meet the growing demand for FasTrak® transponders. BATA is offering a bonus of $10 in prepaid tolls for all new FasTrak® accounts opened through Monday, Dec. 19, the date on which two new FasTrak®-only lanes will open at the Bay Bridge toll plaza. Caltrans will convert lanes #9 and #10, near the center of the main toll plaza, for exclusive use by vehicles equipped with FasTrak® transponders.

“Convenience and efficiency are what FasTrak® is all about,” said Mike Nevin, who represents San Mateo County on the BATA and Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) board, and chairs the BATA Oversight Committee. “FasTrak® saves time and helps ease congestion. It’s easy to sign up, the transponders are free, and drivers don’t need to worry about having cash when they cross a bridge. Now we’re throwing in $10 in prepaid tolls. It just doesn’t make any sense to not have FasTrak®. ”

The $10 credit is available to motorists who enroll online at www.511.org or www.bayareafastrak.org, as well as to those who sign up in person at the satellite center at the Bay Bridge toll plaza or at the main FasTrak® Customer Service Center located at 475 The Embarcadero (at Broadway) in San Francisco. Travelers who open FasTrak® accounts at either of the Customer Service Centers will receive their transponders on the spot. Those who enroll online can expect to receive their transponders in about seven to 10 business days. Opening a FasTrak® account requires establishing a prepaid toll balance of $40.

The satellite FasTrak® Customer Service Center at the Bay Bridge administration building will be open weekdays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and weekends from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. every day through Wednesday, Dec. 21. Motorists can reach the Bay Bridge administration building by entering the toll plaza parking lot from the left lane in either the eastbound or westbound direction. Those who sign up for FasTrak® at the temporary Customer Service Center must use a credit card to open their prepaid toll account, and must have a valid e-mail address. Motorists who choose to open their prepaid toll account by check must visit the main FasTrak® Customer Service Center in San Francisco, which is open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. weekdays, and from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturdays.

FasTrak®-only lanes can handle about three times as many vehicles per hour as lanes where drivers stop to pay cash. Fifteen of the 70 toll lanes at the region’s seven state-owned toll bridges, including five of the 20 toll lanes at the Bay Bridge toll plaza, currently are reserved for FasTrak® users. The upcoming conversions will bring to seven the number of FasTrak®-only lanes at the Bay Bridge toll plaza. Lanes reserved for FasTrak®-equipped vehicles will include lanes #5, #9, #10 and #11 at the main toll plaza and lanes #18, #19 and #20 at the “mini plaza” on the far right side of the roadway. A diagram of the FasTrak®-only lanes at the Bay Bridge toll plaza can be viewed online at www.mtc.ca.gov/news/info/BayBridge-FasTrak-Dec05.pdf.

“These new FasTrak®-only lanes are another example of Caltrans’ ongoing commitment to promoting the use of intelligent transportation systems to improve the efficiency and safety of California’s transportation system,” said Caltrans Director Will Kempton.

More than 45 0,000 FasTrak® accounts are now open in the Bay Area, and over 600 ,000 vehicles are outfitted with FasTrak® transponders.

BATA, which is directed by the same policy board as the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC), administers tolls on the Bay Area's seven state-owned toll bridges and oversees the operation of the FasTrak® Customer Service Center on behalf of MTC, Caltrans and the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District. MTC is the transportation planning, financing and coordinating agency for the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area.

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