Here’s an interesting story by Gary Richards of the San Jose Mercury News:
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The time it takes to reach the toll plaza at the Bay Bridge has fallen almost in half during the peak of the morning
commute, and ridership on BART has increased slightly since tolls were raised to $6 in the region’s first experiment with congestion
pricing.
Data released Wednesday by the Bay Area Toll Authority found that delays in reaching the toll plaza from nearby freeway ramps have
fallen from 19 minutes to 10 minutes around 7:30 a.m. And BART has seen an increase of 1,500 riders from 5 to 10 a.m., and around 4,500
each weekday.
Tolls rose from $4 to $5 on all seven state-owned bridges on July 1. But on the Bay Bridge, the increase was higher — $6 from 5 to 10 a.m.
and 3 to 7 p.m. and $4 at other hours on weekdays. It’s $5 to cross on weekends.
This is the first time Bay Area drivers have been charged a higher toll to drive when traffic is heavy.
In addition, carpoolers now pay $2.50 on all state bridges during commute times. They had crossed free under the old pricing scheme.
Bridge officials were hoping the higher tolls would persuade some motorists to cross the bay during nonpeak times and entice more East
Bay-to-San Francisco travelers to try transit. On that basis, the early results are encouraging.
Still, officials were not ready to proclaim the new pricing system a success, saying it’s premature to know what the eventual impact will
be.
“There are hints of changes in driver behavior,” said John Goodwin, a spokesman for the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, “but it
is still far too early to draw any meaningful conclusions from this data.”
One change that is worrisome, but not unexpected, involves carpoolers. Carpool crossings on the seven bridges have declined by 12,126 a day.
Overall, crossings fell by 9,821 vehicles a day compared with a similar period last year. Full-paying fares are up 2,305 a day.
Traffic has fallen by 6,199 vehicles a day on the Bay Bridge, with smaller declines on the Dumbarton (225) and San Mateo (192) each
weekday.
