SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — New Year, new toll prices on the Bay Area’s seven state-owned bridges.
“It’s kind of the price you need to pay to live in the Bay,” said Patrick Lam, Santa Rosa resident.
Starting Jan. 1, the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, Antioch, Benicia-Martinez, Carquinez, Dumbarton, Richmond-San Rafael and San Mateo-Hayward bridge tolls will go up by $.50.
“I cross the Bay Bridge and cross the Richmond bridge, so sometimes I’m getting hit with three tolls in one day,” Lam said.
Toll rates for cars will increase from $8 to $8.50, and it won’t end there.
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“It’ll be $0.50 starting this year, and then there are going to be $0.50 increments over the next four years as well, and then it should stabilize,” said Rebecca Long, director of legislation and Public Affairs at the Metropolitan Transportation Commission.
The Metropolitan Transportation Commission is the government agency in charge of these bridges. It said it hasn’t had a price hike that has gone directly towards fixing the bridges since 2010.
“They need deck improvements, step repairs, cable strengthening. It’s about a $2.3 billion capital improvement plan,” Long said.
According to MTC, “The Bay Area’s seven state-owned toll bridges carry about 320,000 toll-paying (one-way) trips a day. About one-third of those are on the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge (35%). Other bridges have much lower volumes in this order:
- Carquinez (15%)
- Benicia-Martinez (15%)
- San Mateo-Hayward (13%)
- Richmond-San Rafael (11%)
- Dumbarton (8%)
- Antioch (2%)
“
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The Golden Gate Bridge is not state-owned, so the tolls will not go up Jan. 1. Toll increases of $0.50 will take place in July 2026, part of a five-year program, and will continue through 2028.
Average BART fares are also going up by $0.30 on the first day of 2026.
The fare hike is projected to generate $15.6 million in 2026 and help with BART’s budget deficit, which is projected to hit $376 million by 2027.
“Honestly, it’s really not fun, and then to make it more expensive. No, it’s not good,” said Michaela MacRostie, a San Francisco resident.
In 2025, SFMTA implemented two Muni fare increases, raising the standard Clipper ride cost from $2.50 to $2.75 and again to $2.85.
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In a statement, SFMTA said:
“Muni is a lifeline service for half a million people every day. Although we face a $300M+ budget deficit in July 2026 with rates of inflation affecting goods and services everywhere, we’ve managed to keep our fares as low as possible so Muni can run strong for our customers. We continue to offer a variety of discounts for people with low incomes, free Muni for youth and free service tonight for New Year’s Eve to keep our roads safe during celebrations throughout San Francisco.”
“It sucks, but you just either deal with it or you leave,” Lam said.
Luz Pena: “What are you planning to do?”
“Oh, I’m staying put. It is what it is,” Lam said.
By 2030, tolls for vehicles on the seven state-owned bridges will go up to $10.50.
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