Free Crossings for Eligible Veterans BeginJan. 1, Penalty-Waiver Program Coming
SAN FRANCISCO,Dec. 27, 2022/PRNewswire/ -- The Bay Area Toll Authority (BATA) and the Golden Gate Bridge District today announced two new bridge toll assistance programs that will benefit customers from lower-income households as well as eligible military veterans, beginning in 2023.
ByJuly 1, 2023, BATA and the Golden Gate Bridge District will institute a policy for toll bridge customers whose household income is no more than 200 percent of the federal poverty level (approximately$55,000for a family of four) to receive a waiver of any penalties assessed for late or missed payments of toll invoices and toll evasion notices incurred for toll bridge crossings betweenMarch 20, 2020andJan. 1, 2023. The waiver applies to the Golden Gate Bridge and to the state-ownedAntioch,Benicia-Martinez, Carquinez, Dumbarton,Richmond-San Rafael, San Francisco-Oakland Bay andSan Mateo-Haywardbridges. The waiver will not apply to Express Lanes.
The Low-Income COVID Waiver program — created by Assembly Bill 2594, which was authored by San Francisco Assembly memberPhil Tingand enacted earlier this year — will allow qualifying motorists to request from FasTrak®a waiver of outstanding bridge toll violation penalties. Waiver recipients will be required to pay tolls and any fees charged by the Department of Motor Vehicles for vehicle registration holds due to the non-payment of penalties.
Another new state law — AB 2949, authored by Assembly memberAlex LeeofSan Jose— goes into effectJan. 1, 2023, granting eligible veterans of the U.S. armed forces free tolls onCaliforniatoll bridges. These include the Golden Gate Bridge as well as the state-ownedAntioch,Benicia-Martinez, Carquinez, Dumbarton,Richmond-San Rafael, San Francisco-Oakland Bay andSan Mateo-Haywardbridges. The free-passage benefit does not apply to Express Lanes.
To be eligible for free travel acrossCaliforniatoll bridges, vehicles registered to military veterans must have a license plate with one of the following designations: Congressional Medal of Honor, Disabled Veteran, Legend of Valor, Pearl Harbor Survivor, Ex-Prisoner of War, or Purple Heart.
合格的退伍军人目前不需要FasTrak electronic toll payment account to qualify for free passage, although a FasTrak-enrollment requirement will be instituted in the future. To avoid being charged a toll, veterans who already are FasTrak customers must place their FasTrak tag in a Mylar bag when traveling through bridge toll plazas. Customers may request a bag by logging into their FasTrak account, clicking 'Vehicles and Tags', and selecting 'Request Toll Tag Supplies.' Veterans also may request a Mylar bag by calling the FasTrak customer service center at 877-BAY-TOLL (877-229-8655). These bags are free of charge.
BATA administers all toll revenues from theSan Francisco Bay Area'sseven state-owned toll bridges. The Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District owns and operates the Golden Gate Bridge.
SOURCE Metropolitan Transportation Commission; Bay Area Toll Authority
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