Golden Gate Bridge Toll Takers being replaced by automation.
Photo: Mercury News
Who has gone over the Golden Gate Bridge in the past 12 hours – what is it like without toll takers? If you don’t have fast trak pass on your car, the owner of your vehicle will receive a $6 bill in the mail. Here is the scoop from the scoopers at GGB:
GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE READY FOR FINAL “CUT-OVER” TO ALL ELECTRONIC TOLLING FOR MORNING COMMUTE WEDNESDAY, MARCH 27, 2013
By the morning commute on Wednesday, March 27, things will look different for vehicles passing through the Golden Gate Bridge Toll Plaza headed into San Francisco. With the final “cut-over” to all tolls being processed electronically, several changes at the Toll Plaza will be noticeable:
DO NOT STOP AT THE TOLL PLAZA! If motorists did not take action yet to open a FasTrak Account or use the new Pay-By-Plate License Plate Account or One-Time Payment, DO NOT PANIC, DO NOT FRET, DO NOT STOP–YOU WILL GET A TOLL INVOICE (with no added fees) MAILED to the registered owner of the vehicle.
25 MPH SPEED LIMIT TRHOUGH THE TOLL PLAZA: The Board of Directors is expected to approve the new 25 MPH speed limit on March 22. The current speed limit is 15 MPH through the Toll Plaza. The speed on the Bridge roadway remains at 45 MPH.
DEDICATED CARPOOL ONLY TOLL LANE IS TOLL LANE #2 (west side, right-hand side of the Toll Plaza): This is the first-ever dedicated carpool toll lane at the Golden Gate Bridge Toll Plaza. There is NO dedicated carpool roadway lane–ONLY the dedicated toll lane #2.
ALL NEW SIGNAGE AT THE TOLL PLAZA
• New 27-ft long LED sign added on top of the Toll Plaza will read DO NOT STOP, AUTOMATIC TOLLING
• New Toll Payment Rate signs that reads: Pay-By-Plate $6 / FasTrak $5.
THE FOUR “FASTRAK ONLY” TOLL LANES (on the far left, eastside of the Toll Plaza) WILL NO LONGER BE DESIGNATED AS “FASTRAK ONLY” AS ALL TOLL LANES PROCESS ALL TOLLS ELECTRONICALLY.
TOLL COLLECTORS WILL BE GONE from the Toll Plaza and the INTERIOR WINDOWS of toll booths will be covered to avoid motorists stopping
The conversion to electronic tolling means no more stopping or fumbling for cash at the Golden Gate Bridge Toll Plaza for motorists headed south into San Francisco as tolls are collected only in this direction. Traffic will move more smoothly through the Toll Plaza, specifically during afternoon commute hours as well as on afternoon and evening on weekends and holidays.
Golden Gate Bridge Toll Payment Options with All Electronic Tolling
There are four ways to pay tolls electronically: FasTrak and three new Pay-By-Plate options that include License Plate Account, One-Time Payment, and Toll Invoice. Tolls can be paid using credit card, cash, check, or money order. They can be paid online, by phone, or in person.
To learn more about which option is best for you, visit www.goldengate.org/tolls and view a short (1:40 minute) animation that explains the all electronic tolling payment options at the Golden Gate Bridge (click “Watch our video to find out more”).
Open a FasTrak Account
FasTrak is a convenient option for paying tolls on all of the Bay Area’s eight toll bridges and Express Lanes (I-680 and SR 237), as well as the toll roads in southern California. Tolls are automatically deducted from a prepaid FasTrak Account that can be opened using a credit card or cash.
At the Golden Gate Bridge, FasTrak offers discounted toll rates and is required for carpools. To activate a FasTrak Account, a prepaid toll balance and a $20 refundable toll tag deposit are required. When using a credit card, the initial prepaid minimum toll balance is $25 and when using cash, check or money order, the initial prepaid minimum toll balance is $50.
Open a FasTrak Account:
Stop by select Costco, Safeway, or Walgreens to purchase a FasTrak toll tag for $25 ($20 refundable deposit and $5 in prepaid tolls); find retail locations at www.bayareafastrak.org. After you get your toll tag, you must open a FasTrak Account online at www.bayareafastrak.org or by calling toll free 1-877-229-8655, Monday – Friday, 8:30 am to 5:30 pm, Saturday 9:00 am to 1:00 pm.
Go online and open an account using a credit card at www.bayareafastrak.org.
Call and open an account using a credit card, toll free 877-229-8655, Monday-Friday, 8:30 am to 5:30 pm and Saturday 9:00 am.
Go in person using credit card, cash, check, money order: Bay Area FasTrak Customer Service Center, 475 The Embarcadero (at Broadway), San Francisco, CA. Monday – Friday, 8:30 am to 5:30 pm, Saturday 9:00 am to 1:00 pm.
When your prepaid toll balance falls below $15, or your personalized minimum threshold, your credit card is automatically charged with the replenishment amount. Additionally, you may replenish the account using a credit card over by phone: toll free 877-229-8655. Using cash, you can replenish the account at a Cash Payment Location; refer to the merchant list at www.bayareafastrak.org.
New Pay-By-Plate Options
Open a License Plate Account
License Plate Accounts are best suited for drivers who choose to “pay as they go” and choose to forgo the benefits of paying FasTrak’s discounted toll rates. A License Plate Account can be funded using a credit card or cash. You may add up to 5 license plates per account. If you register your license plate with your credit card, the toll is charged to your credit card ONLY each time that you cross the Golden Gate Bridge. If you use cash, a prepaid toll balance equivalent to a single toll is required, and the toll is deducted from the Account when your vehicle crosses the Bridge.
Make a One-Time Payment
Making a One-Time Payment is exactly what it sounds like: you make your toll payment, one payment at a time. One-Time Payments are suggested for customers that want to pay using cash, visitors traveling in their own vehicles from out-of-state or out-of the country, and infrequent bridge crossers. One-Time Payments can be made up to 30 days before crossing the Golden Gate Bridge or within 48 hours after and can be made using a credit card or cash.
Online using a credit card at www.bayareafastrak.org
By phone using a credit card: Toll free 877-229-8655, outside California at 415-486-TOLL (415-486-8655). Monday – Friday 8:30 am to 5:30 pm, Saturday 9:00 am to 1:00 pm
In person using cash at a Cash Payment Location, find locations at www.bayareafastrak.org
In person using cash/check/money order or credit card: Bay Area FasTrak Customer Service Center, 475 The Embarcadero (at Broadway), San Francisco, CA. Monday – Friday 8:30 am to 5:30 pm, Saturday 9:00 am to 1:00 pm
Toll Invoice
If you have not had the time to take action to open a FasTrak Account, open a License Plate Account, or make a One-Time Payment, a Toll Invoice is generated a few days after your cross the Golden Gate Bridge and mailed to the registered own of the vehicle. The Toll Invoice is only for the toll amount due.
If you cross the Golden Gate Bridge more than a few times a year, it is strongly recommended that you take action to open a FasTrak Account, open a License Plate Account, or learn how to make a One-Time Payment. By taking action, you reduce the possibility of being late with your Toll Invoice payment which makes it automatically escalate to a Toll Violation with fines associated.
Any unpaid Toll Invoice or unpaid portion of a Toll Invoice leads directly to a Toll Violation notice which attaches a $25 penalty for each toll transaction associated with the unpaid Toll Invoice. If the first Toll Violation notice goes unpaid, a second Toll Violation notice is issued (with increased penalties) and if it goes unpaid, the amount due is referred to the DMV who will withhold your vehicle registration until the penalties are paid. For out-of-state vehicles, the matter is referred to a collections agency.
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– See more at: http://goldengate.org/tolls/readyforcutover.php#sthash.f8zz61zU.dpuf