Millionth FasTrak Customer Hits Bridge Toll Jackpot

OAKLAND, CA — Months of toll-free commuting, and plenty of weekend trips to San Francisco. That’s how Oakland resident Helen Simmons figures she will use the $1,000 in free tolls she received this week from the Bay Area Toll Authority (BATA) in appreciation for opening the 1 millionth FasTrak® electronic toll collection account in the nine-county region. The FasTrak system has been in operation on Bay Area toll bridges since 2000.

Simmons, who commutes across the Bay Bridge daily to her job with a South San Francisco contracting firm, explained why she waited until this fall to sign up for FasTrak. “I’d been using my mom’s toll tag for years. But after I moved to Oakland 11 months ago, she got tired of me borrowing it and insisted I get one of my own.

“I don’t always have cash on me,” continued Simmons. “But with FasTrak, I don’t have to worry about it. And FasTrak really saves me time, especially on weekends. Sometimes I carpool to work, too. So I have to have FasTrak.”

In addition to $1,000 in free tolls, Simmons received pairs of Courtside Club tickets for two Golden State Warriors games, including tonight’s home opener against Houston, as well as a $100 gift certificate for Warriors merchandise. Simmons, a lifelong San Francisco Giants fan, plans to use modern electronics not only to pay her bridge tolls but also to follow Game 1 of the World Series while at the Warriors game at Oracle Arena. “I think I’ll be checking my phone quite a bit,” she predicted.

BATA, which is directed by the same policy board as the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC), administers toll revenues from the Bay Area’s seven state-owned toll bridges. MTC is the transportation planning, financing and coordinating agency for the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area.

Contact:

John Goodwin: (415) 778-5262