Golden Gate Bridge All-Electronic Tolling Begins

Starting Wednesday, March 27, the Golden Gate Bridge will begin all-electronic tolling, which will eliminate cash lanes and vehicle stops at all toll booths in order to ease congestion. This change will affect all commuters traveling southbound on Highway 101 across the Golden Gate Bridge into San Francisco, lowering commute times for the nearly 20 million vehicles that travel southbound across the bridge each year. It does not apply to other Bay Area bridges.

Commuters will be able to pay their tolls using:

• FasTrak: This existing electronic toll collection system requires drivers to prepay their bridge tolls. It works on all Bay Area bridges and remains the only way to receive discounted toll and carpool rates.

Or by using one of three new Pay-By-Plate options:

• License Plate Account: License Plate Accounts do not require a pre-paid balance. They offer a pay-as-you-go option and can be set up using a credit card or cash. All Pay-By-Plate options are tied to a vehicle's license plate number, which is scanned while driving through the toll plaza.

• One-Time Payment: One-Time Payments allow commuters to pay a toll as many as 30 days before or 48 hours after a crossing. It is ideal for drivers who want to pay using cash.

• Toll Invoice: Commuters without a FasTrak or Pay-By-Plate account will receive an invoice for the toll amount in the mail without penalty.

Frequent Golden Gate Bridge travelers are encouraged to sign up for a FasTrak account or License Plate Account.

To learn more about the conversion or which payment method is best for you, visit http://goldengate.org/tolls

You may also watch this video illustration of how electronic tolling works: http://vimeo.com/53966962