A comment period begins soon for a proposal to raise tolls on the Bay Area’s seven state-owned toll bridges starting in 2026, according to the Bay Area Toll Authority.
The proposed toll hikes would piggyback on a $3 increase approved by voters in the nine-county area as Regional Measure 3 in 2018 that added a $1 increase in 2019, another in 2022 and will add a final $1 increase on Jan. 1, 2025, bringing the toll for regular two-axle cars and trucks to $8 to cross a bridge.
The bridges affected by the upcoming toll increase and proposed additional increase are the Bay, Antioch, Benicia-Martinez, Carquinez, Dumbarton, Richmond-San Rafael and San Mateo-Hayward bridges. The Golden Gate Bridge, which is under the jurisdiction of its own transit district, is not affected.
The proposal was presented Wednesday to BATA, which oversees toll revenue from the seven bridges and is directed by the same board as the Metropolitan Transportation Commission that serves as the transportation planning, financing and coordinating agency for the nine-county Bay Area.
It proposes increasing tolls for cars and trucks to $8.50 in 2026, then for people who use FasTrak tags, it would increase to $9 in 2027, $9.50 in 2028, $10 in 2029 and $10.50 in 2030. People not using FasTrak and instead using a pre-registered license plate account or paying by an invoice mailed to them would have to pay an extra $0.25 to $1 premium, respectively, starting in 2027.
The toll authority says the proposal comes as it is collecting less revenue each year than would have been expected before the COVID-19 pandemic, while construction costs have also gone up more than 30% since 2020.
“I’m sensitive to the overall cost of living in the Bay Area,” Napa County and BATA and MTC chair Alfredo Pedroza said in a statement about the toll hike proposal. “Working families really feel the impact, not just in transportation but back at home with utilities, groceries, children. This one is hard. But it’s the right thing to do.”
People wanting to give their opinion on the proposal will have the opportunity to do so in various ways during a comment period that begins Nov. 4 and runs through Dec. 3. People can send emails with “Proposed 2026 Toll Increase” in the subject line, or send mail to the MTC’s Public Information Office at 375 Beale St., Suite 800, San Francisco, CA 94105.
They can also attend a webinar on Nov. 13 at 6:30 p.m. Or go to a public hearing in San Francisco on Nov. 20.
More details about the proposal can be found on the MTC website.
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