The Bay Bridge and other crossings around the region are going cashless as part of efforts to contain the spread of the coronavirus, officials said.
Starting at midnight Friday, cash toll booths will no longer be staffed, and drivers in those lanes will be expected to continue through them without stopping to pay, CalTrans and the Bay Area Toll Authority announced.
Nothing is changing for drivers who have FasTrak — you’ll still have your account charged the usual toll.
If you don’t have a FasTrak account, cameras will capture a photo of your license plate and you’ll be mailed a bill for the crossing. It will come in an alarming “Toll Violation Notice” envelope, but don’t worry: the authority is suspending the usual fees, and you’ll only be charged for the toll.
Officials said the change came at Gov. Gavin Newsom’s request to protect toll collectors and the drivers they come into contact with each day.
It will apply at the Antioch, Benicia-Martinez, Carquinez, Dumbarton, Richmond-San Rafael and San Mateo-Hayward bridges, as well as the Bay Bridge. The Golden Gate Bridge has been cash-free since 2013.
Traffic on those bridges has been down sharply since the Bay Area’s shelter-in-place order limited travel to essential trips earlier this week. The Bay Bridge saw 42 percent fewer cars on Wednesday compared to a typical day, and traffic was down 62 percent on the Dumbarton Bridge.
