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For Immediate Release

Freeway Service Patrol Adds More Miles, More Hours to Its Coverage

Three Bay Area counties get expanded roving tow truck service

CONTACT:

Réka Goode, MTC SAFE
510.464.7706

Marjorie Blackwell, MTC SAFE
510.464.7884

OAKLAND, Calif., July 18, 2001...Starting in early July, the Freeway Service Patrol (FSP) roving tow truck service has increased its coverage of Bay Area freeways in three separate corners of the region, adding a total of 41 miles of coverage to its 362-mile regionwide network, and boosting the number of hours it patrols a segment of Interstate 80 in Solano County. The increased mileage affects Interstate 280 and State Route 92 in San Mateo County, and Interstate 580 in southeastern Alameda County.

The patrol hours being added to the stretch of I-80 between Magazine Street in Vallejo and Waterman Boulevard in Fairfield will supplement the Friday and Sunday afternoon and evening coverage that was implemented on a temporary basis in July 2000 to cope with recreational travel heading to and from Lake Tahoe and the Sierras. As of July 2 of this year, weekday commute-hour patrols ÷ from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. and from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. ÷ have been added to the still-continuing afternoon and evening weekend patrols, which run from 3:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Fridays and 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. Sundays.

On the Peninsula, two tow trucks now regularly cruise an 18-mile segment of Interstate 280 and State Route 92 that had not been served before, looking for stranded motorists to help and hazardous situations to alleviate. The segment runs from Interstate 380 to SR 92 on I-280, and State Route 1 to I-280 on SR 92.

In the Dublin/Pleasanton area, the FSP's I-580 coverage area has been extended by 13 miles (for a total of 20 miles), and the number of trucks in service has been increased from one to three. The previous patrol beat stretched from Tassajara Road to Foothill Road; it now continues on to Grant Line Road.

These boosts in FSP coverage complement the increased midday patrols by FSP tow trucks on Interstate 80 between the Bay Bridge toll plaza and State Route 4 that were launched as part of the "CLEAR I-80" traffic management demonstration project announced last week by the California Highway Patrol. Like the CLEAR I-80 project, the regionwide FSP is co-sponsored by the CHP, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission Service Authority for Freeways and Expressways (MTC SAFE) and Caltrans.

The FSP operates primarily during peak commute hours in most Bay Area counties, covering more than 400 miles of the region's most congested freeways with a fleet of 74 trucks ÷ 60 tow trucks, six pickup trucks and two flatbeds (plus six back-up trucks).

FSP drivers currently stop an average of nearly 9,000 times a month to clear accidents, assist stranded motorists, remove dangerous road debris, tag abandoned vehicles and otherwise help to make the region's freeways safer and less congested. FSP drivers attempt to get stalled autos running within a few minutes by providing basic services free of charge such as changing a tire, jump-starting a battery, taping hoses or providing a gallon of fuel. If that doesn't work, the vehicle is towed to the nearest CHP-identified location off the freeway at no cost to the owner.

The FSP program is paid for by a variety of federal, state and local funds, including part of a $1-per-vehicle annual registration fee assessed to Bay Area motorists.

MTC is the transportation planning, financing and coordinating agency for the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area.

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