The cost of getting around the Bay Area is once again more expensive for commuters. Tolls at seven state-owned bridges are set to rise on Jan. 1, the first in a series of annual hikes over the next five years.
Tolls will increase by 50 cents on the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge and the Antioch, Benicia-Martinez, Carquinez, Dumbarton, Richmond-San Rafael and San Mateo-Hayward bridges.
Tolls for all regular two-axle cars and trucks will increase from the current $8 to $8.50.
In 2027, customers who pay with FasTrak tags will then see toll rates rise to $9 on the bridges, while tolls for customers who use a pre-registered license plate account will climb to $9.25 and invoiced tolls will rise to $10.
Tolls for large freight trucks and other vehicle-trailer combinations with three or more axles will rise by 50 cents per axle each year through 2030, according to a Monday news release from the Metropolitan Transportation Commission.
The rate increases were approved by the Bay Area Toll Authority in late 2024, the news release said.
In addition to raising tolls, the Bay Area Toll Authority is updating carpool policies on the seven bridges starting Jan. 1 to a uniform requirement of three or more people in a vehicle to qualify for half-price tolls during weekday commute times. The San Mateo-Hayward Bridge and the Dumbarton Bridge currently require two people in a vehicle to qualify for reduced carpool tolls.
Carpool vehicles approaching the Bay Bridge must use a dedicated carpool lane, but can use either a standard FasTrak tag or a FasTrak Flex tag — which features a three-position switch to indicate how many people are in the vehicle — set to the “3+” position to receive the 50 percent discount on weekdays from 5 a.m. to 10 a.m. and from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Carpoolers at the six other state-owned bridges must use a dedicated carpool lane and pay their tolls with a FasTrak Flex toll tag set to the “3+” position to receive the peak-period discount, the agency said.
Beginning in January, vehicles with two people will be able to use the carpool lanes on all but the Bay Bridge to save time traveling through the toll plazas, though they will not receive the 50 percent discount. The Bay Bridge will still require at least three people in a vehicle to use carpool lanes.
The money collected from the increased tolls will go to pay for the maintenance, rehabilitation and operation of the seven bridges, the agency said.
The Golden Gate Bridge’s toll rates, set by the Golden Gate Bridge Highway and Transportation District, increased by 50 cents on July 1. FasTrak account rates are now $9.75; pay-as-you-go rates are $10, and toll invoice rates are $10.75.
Tolls at the Golden Gate Bridge are set to increase again by 50 cents on July 1, as part of a five-year toll increase program that began in 2024.
Most Golden Gate Transit Bus and Golden Gate Ferry fares rose by 25 cents on July 1.