The regional body that sets toll rates for the Bay Area’s seven state-owned bridges voted this week to raise tolls by another $1.25 to $3 for two-axle vehicles, starting in 2026, introducing a “tiered” tolling rate.
Changes were also made to carpool lanes, known as high occupancy lanes, with a third person per vehicle now required to receive a discount on the Dumbarton and San Mateo-Hayward bridges.
The toll increases will affect the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge and the Antioch, Benicia-Martinez, Carquinez, Dumbarton, Richmond-San Rafael and San Mateo-Hayward bridges. The carpool lane changes will affect all but the Bay Bridge.
The toll increase, which will be phased in over five years starting in 2026, is on top of a $1 increase that will take effect in January, which will bring the current toll to $8 for drivers with one or two occupants, and $4 with three or more.
The $1 increase in January marks the third installment of a $3 increase that was approved by voters as part of Regional Measure 3 in 2018. The toll was first increased in 2019, then again in 2022.
The vote in December by the Bay Area Toll Authority, which is controlled by the regional Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC), marks a new increase that will leave drivers with tiered rates starting in 2027.
According to the MTC, all rates will increase by 50 cents in 2026, except for carpoolers, who receive half-off and will see an increase of 25 cents. After that, the rates diverge.
Drivers with FasTrak will see steady increases of 50 cents per year until the toll is set at $10.50 in January 2030. High occupancy rates for vehicles with three or more people will still be 50% of those rates, increasing 25 cents each year until they are set at $5.25 starting in 2030.
The Toll Authority voted to standardize the three-occupant requirement to receive the high occupancy discount on all bridges. The Dumbarton and San Mateo-Hayward bridges currently allow the discount with two occupants.
But vehicles with two occupants will be able to access the high occupancy carpool lanes on the approach to the bridges on all but the Bay Bridge starting in 2026.
The tiers are created by a bump starting in 2027. Drivers with registered license plate accounts will see an additional increase of 25 cents, which will then continue increasing by 50 cents until the rate is $10.75 in 2030.
Drivers who rely on an electronic invoice will see an additional $1 on their bill in 2027, which will ultimately set the rate at $11.50 for such drivers. The state went to an all-electronic toll system in 2021 after initially removing toll booth operators because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Vehicles with more than two axles will see higher increases, with three-axle vehicles seeing tolls rise from $18 starting in January to $25.50 in 2030, increasing by $1.50 each year.
The number ranges for vehicles with additional axles with rates in 2025 between $22 and $37, which will increase to a range between $33 and $55.50.
The money raised from the toll increases and changes to carpool lanes will go towards bridge maintenance and repairs, according to the MTC.
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