Toll Authority to Host Wednesday Webinar On Proposed 2026 Toll Hike, Carpool Policy Changes

SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 12, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The Bay Area Toll Authority (BATA) and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) will host a public webinar tomorrow evening, Nov. 13, from 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. to present more details about the toll increase proposed last month for the Bay Area's seven state-owned toll bridges as well as proposed updates to the policies for high-occupancy vehicles on approaches to these bridges. If approved by BATA in December, the toll increase would be phased in over five years, beginning Jan. 1, 2026, with the additional revenue used only to pay for the maintenance, rehabilitation and operation of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge and the Antioch, Benicia-Martinez, Carquinez, Dumbarton, Richmond-San Rafael and San Mateo-Hayward bridges. Proposed changes to the carpool lane policies on the bridge approaches also would take effect in 2026.

Webinar Details

• Date: Wednesday, Nov. 13
• Time: 6:30 to 8 p.m.
• Webinar ID: 897 0503 7686
• Webinar Passcode: 034321
• Join by Video: Zoom
• Join by Phone: 877-853-5247

BATA is required by state law to fund projects to preserve and protect the Bay Area's seven state-owned toll bridges. The proposed toll hike is separate from the $3 increase approved by Bay Area voters in 2018 through Regional Measure 3 to finance a comprehensive suite of highway and transit improvements around the region. The first of the three $1 Regional Measure 3 toll increases went into effect in 2019, followed by another in 2022. The last of the RM 3 toll hikes will go into effect Jan. 1, 2025, bringing the toll for regular two-axle cars and trucks to $8.

BATA, which is directed by the same policy board as MTC, administers toll revenues from the Bay Area's seven state-owned toll bridges. Toll revenues from the Golden Gate Bridge are administered by the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District, which joined with BATA to operate a single regional FasTrak customer service center in San Francisco. MTC is the transportation planning, financing and coordinating agency for the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area.

SOURCE Metropolitan Transportation Commission