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SR237 Express Lanes
San Jose, CA - The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) is partnering with the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) to convert carpool lanes at the State Route (SR) 237/I-880 interchange in Milpitas to express lanes in February. In preparation for this new facility, new striping on SR 237 will replace the familiar dotted lines with double solid white lines. The striping work will take place over night and could start as early as Wednesday, January 25, weather and conditions permitting. If all goes according to plan, the double solid white line will be in place for the morning commute on January 30, 2012.
The new striping will provide a buffer between the express lane and the general purpose lanes and also indicate limited entry and exit points. Although the tolling system will not be fully functional until the end of February, it is a moving violation for drivers to cross over the double solid white lines and can result in a ticket. For more information please visit www.vta.org/expresslanes.
Multi-Axle Vehicles’ Toll Hike Waiver Ends July 1
FasTrak would like to remind drivers of big-rig trucks and other vehicles or combinations (including pickup/boat trailer, auto/trailer and RV/auto) with more than two axles that the toll on Bay Area toll bridges will increase on July 1. This increase was approved in 2010.
From July 1, 2011 to June 30, 2012, toll rates for multi-axle vehicles on all bridges, except the Golden Gate Bridge, will be:
| Axles |
Cash |
| 3 |
$ 10.50 |
| 4 |
$ 14.00 |
| 5 |
$ 18.00 |
| 6 |
$ 21.00 |
| 7+ |
$ 24.25 |
On the Golden Gate Bridge, the toll rates for multi-axle vehicles will be:
| Axles |
Cash |
FasTrak |
| 3 |
$ 13.00 |
$ 11.25 |
| 4 |
$ 18.00 |
$ 15.00 |
| 5 |
$ 22.00 |
$ 18.75 |
| 6 |
$ 27.00 |
$ 22.50 |
| 7+ |
$ 31.00 |
$ 26.25 |
Beginning July 1, 2012, the multi-axle vehicle toll increase approved for all Bay Area toll bridges in 2010 will be fully implemented: $5 times the number of axles for state-owned bridges, and $5-FasTrak and $6-cash times the number of axles for the Golden Gate Bridge. State law requires tolls on state-owned bridges to be based on the total number of axles. For more information, please visit www.mtc.ca.gov/tolls and www.goldengatebridge.org/tolls_traffic/toll_rates.php
Hybrid Stickers Expired June 30, 2011
The yellow Clean Air Stickers issued by the Department of Motor Vehicles to hybrid vehicles expired at midnight on June 30, 2011. These stickers allowed owners of qualifying hybrid vehicles to drive solo in the Bay Area carpool lanes. However, starting July 1, 2011, you are no longer able to drive in a carpool lane, unless you meet the minimum passenger requirements for carpools. Hybrid drivers using a carpool lane without the required number of passengers may be cited by law enforcement.
For more information, click here.
How to Settle Carpool Violations
As of July 1, carpoolers must pay bridge tolls AND must use a FasTrak toll tag to pay their tolls in a dedicated carpool lane on state-owned bridges (or in a staffed lane on the Golden Gate Bridge). Since the new toll rates were implemented on July 1, many carpool vehicles are using the carpool lanes without a FasTrak toll tag, which has resulted in an increase in toll violations.
If you recently drove through a carpool lane and received a violation notice, it was because you did not pay your bridge toll with a FasTrak toll tag. As a first-time violator, you can open a new FasTrak account and the violation penalties will be waived – only the toll amount will be charged to your new account.
For more information, click
here.
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