Press Releases

Media Advisory

Public Hearing on Proposed Temporary Toll Discount for FasTrak® Users, and Committee Review of Plan to Increase FasTrak®-only Lanes

For Release: April 13, 2004

CONTACT:

Randy Rentschler, MTC/BATA
510.817.5780

Peter Lee, MTC/BATA
510.817.5716

WHAT:

Public hearing to receive testimony from Bay Area residents on a proposed temporary $1 toll discount for two-axle vehicles using the FasTrak® electronic toll collection system on the region’s seven state-owned bridges,

and

Regularly scheduled monthly meeting of the Bay Area Toll Authority Oversight Committee, which will consider the FasTrak® Strategic Plan’s recommendation to add more FasTrak®-only lanes to five of the state-owned bridges. Three new FasTrak®-only lanes would be designated on the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, and one each would be so designated on the Benicia-Martinez, Dumbarton, Richmond-San Rafael and San Mateo-Hayward bridges over a three-month period starting in July.

(The other two state-owned bridges are the Antioch and Carquinez bridges, which are not being considered for additional FasTrak®-only lanes at this time. Neither the discount proposal nor the increase in FasTrak®-only lanes would affect the Golden Gate Bridge.)

WHEN:

10 a.m., Wednesday, April 14, 2004

WHERE:

Lawrence D. Dahms Auditorium
Joseph P. Bort MetroCenter
101 Eighth Street
Oakland, Calif.

WHO:

The Bay Area Toll Authority (BATA), an arm of the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) – the nine-county region’s transportation planning, financing and coordinating agency. BATA was created by the state Legislature to administer the base toll revenues from the seven bridges.

WHY:

As a result of voter approval of Regional Measure 2 on March 2, 2004, tolls on the seven state-owned bridges in the Bay Area will be raised by $1 effective July 1, 2004, to fund a package of transportation improvements in the bridge corridors. A temporary toll discount for FasTrak® users could encourage greater use of the FasTrak® system and thereby speed the flow of traffic past the tollbooths. Increasing the number of FasTrak®-only lanes is expected to significantly reduce congestion levels at the toll plazas for FasTrak® users, and provide an added incentive for motorists to sign up for a FasTrak® transponder.

DOWNLOAD:

Diagrams of proposed dedicated FasTrak® lanes (PDF)

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