Press Releases

For Immediate Release

Rain Delay Gives Drivers More Time
To Take Advantage of FasTrak®Offer

$10 Credit Offer Extended to Dec. 26

Contact:

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

Oakland, Calif., Dec. 19, 2005 – Though the past weekend’s heavy rains temporarily washed out today’s planned opening of two new FasTrak®-only lanes at the Bay Bridge toll plaza, the gray clouds featured a silver lining for Bay Area drivers. The Bay Area Toll Authority (BATA) has extended by one week — to Monday, Dec. 26 — its offer of a $10 credit to motorists who open new FasTrak® electronic toll collection accounts.

BATA will extend its program to credit with $10 in prepaid tolls all new FasTrak® accounts opened through 11:59 p.m. on Dec. 26. The program originally was to end Dec. 19. Travelers can enroll online at www.511.org or www.bayareafastrak.org, via phone by calling 511 and saying “FasTrak®,” or in person by visiting the main FasTrak® Customer Service Center located at 475 The Embarcadero (at Broadway) in downtown San Francisco or at a temporary satellite center in the administration building at the Bay Bridge toll plaza. The San Francisco center is open weekdays from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The satellite customer service center is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. through Wednesday, Dec. 21. Those who sign up in person will receive FasTrak® transponders on the spot. Motorists who enroll online or via phone can expect to receive their transponders in about seven to 10 business days.

As soon as weather conditions allow Caltrans paint crews to restripe the lanes 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. Tolls on these lanes currently can be paid with cash or FasTrak®.

“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. The extra week to qualify for the $10 in prepaid tolls is a little present to encourage motorists who have not yet signed up.”

Motorists who want to sign up for FasTrak®at the temporary satellite customer service center can enter the toll plaza parking lot from the left lane in either the eastbound or westbound direction. Those who sign up for FasTrak®at the satellite 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.

FasTrak®-only lanes can handle about three times as many vehicles per hour as lanes where drivers stop to pay cash. 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.

More than 400,000 FasTrak® accounts are now open in the Bay Area, and some 580,000 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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