Toll changes may lead to tie-ups on Bay Bridge

On Thursday, drivers will experience one of the biggest Bay Area bridge toll increases ever. But it's not the amount of the increase - $1 for most vehicles - that makes it stand out in the history of toll inflation. It's the complexity of the toll hike, the magnitude of the changes it makes and the confusion it could create.

The toll for cars and other two-axle vehicles at six of the seven state-owned bridges will rise by $1 to $5. That's the easy part.

But at the Bay Bridge, the region's busiest span with 280,000 vehicles a day, congestion-priced tolls will be introduced. Drivers crossing the bridge between 5 a.m. and 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays will pay $6 while those traveling outside those hours will pay $4. Weekend tolls will be $5 all day.

Big changes also are coming for carpools, which haven't paid tolls since about 1975. That free ride ends Thursday. And, yes, motorcycles and qualified hybrids must pay, too. Carpools on all bridges, including the Golden Gate, will be charged discounted tolls that are half of the normal toll - $2.50 at the state bridges, $3 at the Golden Gate. Non-carpoolers at the Golden Gate, which is independently owned and controlled, will not be affected. Of course, they already pay $6.

"No matter what bridge you cross, there is going to be some kind of change," said John Goodwin, a spokesman for the Bay Area Toll Authority. "There's a lot going on."

With so many changes, transportation officials have been gearing up for this toll increase almost since it was approved in late January for the state bridges and last month for the Golden Gate.

New carpool lanes have been installed at the Richmond-San Rafael and Antioch bridges and new FasTrak readers have been installed at carpool lanes on the Bay and Dumbarton bridges. Signs warning of the advent of tolls for carpools have been hung at each toll plaza, and Metropolitan Transportation Commission staffers have been visiting casual carpool pickup points, notifying and surveying participants.

Carpool debate

The carpool toll has ignited a lively, and sometimes nasty, debate among those who drive or ride in the ad hoc ridesharing system that thrives in the East Bay. The issue: Who should pay the new $2.50 toll? Some think riders should split the toll while others want drivers to foot the full bill. Still others think sharing the cost is the right thing to do, and some favor a voluntary donation system.

Transportation officials have no interest in getting into the middle of the family feud.

"The unique phenomenon of casual carpooling evolved without the bureaucratic interference of government, and I think changes will as well," Goodwin said. "We have no plan to impose any bureaucratic solution."

While the carpool tolls have been well publicized, bridge officials fear that some drivers will forget, or have not yet picked up FasTrak transponders, which are required to get the half-off carpool rate.

"Do not stop at the toll plaza (in the carpool lanes); do not back up; do not try to jump into a nearby lane," Goodwin said. "Safety is our top priority."

Carpoolers without FasTrak will be cited by the electronic toll collection system's automatic cameras, but the $25 fine for an initial toll violation will be waived if they sign up for FasTrak within 30 days. But they'll still have to pay the toll. FasTrak signups have boomed since the beginning of June, with more than 4,000 drivers a week opening accounts, nearly double the usual rate.

In addition to the impact of tolls on carpooling, transportation officials are also curious about the impact of congestion pricing. The theory, untested in the Bay Area, is that the higher peak-hour tolls will drive commuters who don't need to travel during those hours off the bridge until later and push those who don't need to drive onto public transit. Bridge officials expect a 20 percent to 30 percent reduction in commute traffic.

Large signs displaying the time and current toll have been installed above the Bay Bridge toll plaza, with coordinated clocks inside the booths.

"They serve as the official arbiter," he said.

Drivers may slow for time

But the $2 toll savings could cause some commuters approaching the toll plaza just before 10 a.m. to pull over onto a shoulder and wait - or drive very slowly. CHP spokesman Trent Cross said his agency does not anticipate widespread trouble - or gridlock - on Thursday, but will be prepared.

Bridge officials don't anticipate much trouble either. Commuters have adapted quickly to earlier toll increases, FasTrak lane changes and toll booth reconfigurations, he said, even though there is often an adjustment period of a week to 10 days.

E-mail Michael Cabanatuan at mcabanatuan@sfchronicle.com

This article appeared on page A - 1 of the San Francisco Chronicle