Bay area toll roads (San Diego, San Jose: credit, tax, live)

[NorCal Dude]

New I-680 express lane gets off to rough start

"

The express lane, which stretches 14 miles from Highway 84 to Highway 237 in the southbound direction, operates between 5 a.m. and 8 p.m., charging a minimum toll of 30 cents and a maximum of whatever it takes to keep the lane moving at 50 mph or faster - probably a maximum of $4 to $6, according to express lane officials. Cars carrying at least two people qualify as carpools, and are always free."

To use the express lane, solo drivers are required to have a FasTrak transponder to pay the toll. It's collected using overhead antennas at three entry and exit locations along the 14-mile lane. Carpoolers who have FasTrak transponders need to remove them from their windshield and place them in Mylar bags to avoid being charged. Drivers who tossed out the bags mailed to them when they enrolled in FasTrak can get new ones by going online to www.bayareafastrak.com.

Drivers would be well advised to get used to the idea of express lanes, as more are coming soon. In the next year, lanes will open on eastbound Interstate 580 in the Tri-Valley and at the Highway 237/Interstate 880 connection in San Jose. Eventually, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission hopes to ring the bay and crisscross the region with 800 miles of shared carpool-toll lanes.


Once again the bay area doing things backwards. I give the Liberals credit, they figured out how to tax people, create inefficiancy, and neuter the concept of a car pool lane, all with one concept. Brilliant

[clongirl]

Uh... so what? Looks like you're in Sacramento? Why do you care so much about what goes on down here? Just be happy it doesn't affect you.

I could obsess about the negatives in Sac too since I lived there (and many in my family), but I've got much better things to do with my life- why not you? How about enjoying the leaves turning beautiful colors instead- those liquid ambers- or how about getting a sandwich at Selland's or sushi at Mikuni's that should make you forget about the Bay Area?

[18Montclair]

I get ur sentiment but this is already done in many suburban freeways in SoCal that are similarly used by thousands of very long range commuters. The Bay Area is actually late to do this comparatively speaking.

[NorCal Dude]

Originally Posted by clongirl

Uh... so what? Looks like you're in Sacramento? Why do you care so much about what goes on down here? Just be happy it doesn't affect you.

I could obsess about the negatives in Sac too since I lived there (and many in my family), but I've got much better things to do with my life- why not you? How about enjoying the leaves turning beautiful colors instead- those liquid ambers- or how about getting a sandwich at Selland's or sushi at Mikuni's that should make you forget about the Bay Area?

I work in agriculture lady, we have clients from SD to Maine, and my job has me traveling all over. I'm typing this as we speak from SF. So sorry, it may be a hard concept for you to comprehend, but people who live outside the bay area do drive on the roads there. Should we all just pretend this does not exist, like we already do with our gas pipe problem????

[NorCal Dude]

Originally Posted by 18Montclair

I get ur sentiment but this is already done in many suburban freeways in SoCal that are similarly used by thousands of very long range commuters. The Bay Area is actually late to do this comparatively speaking.

From my understanding the only toll road in so cal is in orange county for a brief stretch. I have never heard of toll roads in LA county or SD county or SB-Riverside and they have way more freeways than us

[Lifeshadower]

Oh wow. I used to work in Danville, and 680 was such a mess during rush hour, especially around CA-24. However, just like in SoCal, I think MOST people would rather find a way to get around the toll, rather than to pay the toll. Time is money, yes, but when it comes to that much money, the time saved isn't worth it.

Originally Posted by NorCal Dude

From my understanding the only toll road in so cal is in orange county for a brief stretch. I have never heard of toll roads in LA county or SD county or SB-Riverside and they have way more freeways than us

Orange County has plenty of toll roads.
https://www.thetollroads.com/home/maps.htm (broken link)
https://www.thetollroads.com/home/pdf/F10_visor_map_6_22_09.pdf (broken link)

CA-91 express lanes
CA-133 between I-5 and CA-241
CA-241 (whole route)
CA-261 (whole route)
CA-73 (whole route)

San Diego County toll roads
FasTrak - Home
South Bay Expressway - FAQ (http://www.southbayexpressway.com/about/faq.php - broken link)

I-15 Express lanes between San Diego and Escondido
CA-125 (South Bay Expressway, between Otay Mesa and CA-54)

Ironically, all these areas are a LOT like the I-680 corridor. In fact, they're thinking of adding more of these toll lanes on 580 between Pleasanton and Livermore.

[NorCal Dude]

Originally Posted by Lifeshadower

Oh wow. I used to work in Danville, and 680 was such a mess during rush hour, especially around CA-24. However, just like in SoCal, I think MOST people would rather find a way to get around the toll, rather than to pay the toll. Time is money, yes, but when it comes to that much money, the time saved isn't worth it.



Orange County has plenty of toll roads.
https://www.thetollroads.com/home/maps.htm (broken link)
https://www.thetollroads.com/home/pdf/F10_visor_map_6_22_09.pdf (broken link)

CA-91 express lanes
CA-133 between I-5 and CA-241
CA-241 (whole route)
CA-261 (whole route)
CA-73 (whole route)

San Diego County toll roads


FasTrak - Home
South Bay Expressway - FAQ (http://www.southbayexpressway.com/about/faq.php - broken link)

I-15 Express lanes between San Diego and Escondido
CA-125 (South Bay Expressway, between Otay Mesa and CA-54)

Ironically, all these areas are a LOT like the I-680 corridor. In fact, they're thinking of adding more of these toll lanes on 580 between Pleasanton and Livermore.

The 73 and 241 are the only spans of freeway where this is total. and even then these freeways have a small span of distance. 241 goes from coto de caza to yorba linda and 73 from laguna nigel to newport.

261 and 133 are nothing more than arteries to this tollroad


and the san diego toll road is so small you could miss it easily, look at the small toll road in relation to the maze of freeways in sd, http://www.southbayexpressway.com/picpg/Areamap.html (broken link)

its just a backroute to TJ.

These So cal examples are nothing like what is been happening in the bay, where they hope to line the entire metro with this stuff

[mayorhaggar]

From the article it sounded like the delay was mainly from people who didn't know how to approach the toll area.

[sonarrat]

Well, if you're merging on from Hwy 84 (which a lot of people do, as it's a shortcut coming from the Central Valley), then you have to squeeze your way over to the left in a very short distance. So you get a whole bunch of people disrupting the traffic behind the express lane entrance, and then very light traffic for the rest of the drive since everyone is stuck behind.. what a brilliant idea! I sure hope they do more of these, because they clearly thought it through so well!!

[batransplant]

Coming from out of the area, I am blown away at how poorly the freeways intersect in the bay area. It drives my husband nuts because so much unnecessary traffic is created by people trying to merge into poorly designed freeway interchanges. The 80 maze, the caldecott tunnel, Down in SV... freeways stop and start, oh trying to get to Marin from the east bay also requires getting off the freeway and driving on the Richmond Pkwy for 7 miles w/ traffic lights every 1/2 mile or driving through a scary Richmond ghetto to meet up w/ the 580W. Now people trying to merge into express ways is going to make traffic even worse, not better. What's good about the toll road in Newport is that it covers an entire highway and actually provides a shortcut for people. -This is not the case for the bay area toll roads.