MTC Invites Residents to Share Opinions On Proposed Express Lane Policy Changes

Changes Would Cover New I-80 Express Lanes, Minimum Tolls, Pilot Programs, Clean Air Vehicles, Zone Boundaries

SAN FRANCISCO, April 9, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- With new Express Lanes along Interstate 80 in Solano County expected to open in late 2025, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) and its Bay Area Infrastructure Financing Authority (BAIFA) affiliate invite Bay Area residents to learn about and comment on proposed changes to the Express Lane Toll Facility Ordinance during a public comment period that begins today and will continue through May 9.

Express Lanes are carpool lanes that give priority to buses and carpools but also are open to other drivers who choose to pay a toll for a faster, more reliable trip. To maintain the Express Lanes' speed and reliability edge, tolls rise or fall based on traffic levels. The Toll Facility Ordinance establishes Express Lane tolls, a toll collection process, and civil penalties for the evasion of tolls on MTC-BAIFA Express Lanes. These include the Express Lanes on Interstate 880 in Alameda County and I-680 in Contra Costa County. Travelers can learn more at https://mtc.ca.gov/express-lanes-policies.

MTC and BAIFA propose changes to the existing Toll Facility Ordinance to support the opening of new Express Lanes along both directions of I-80 between Red Top Road in Fairfield and I-505 in Vacaville and to update select policies for all MTC-BAIFA Express Lanes in the Bay Area. In addition to incorporating the I-80 Solano Express Lanes into the Toll Facility Ordinance, these updates include: 

• Allowing Express Lane pilot projects to last up to three years and to be extended for an additional three years.
• Increasing the minimum toll to 75 cents per toll zone from the current 50 cents per zone.
• Scheduling a September 30, 2025, expiration date for the clean air vehicle discount unless changes to federal law are enacted that authorize clean air vehicles after that date to access carpool lanes without meeting posted vehicle occupancy requirements.
• Adjusting the boundaries of the toll zones on the MTC-BAIFA Express Lane along southbound Interstate 680 in Contra Costa.

Pilot projects under consideration include expansion of the existing Express Lanes START initiative (which allows lower-income drivers to qualify for half-price tolls along the I-880 Express Lanes  in Alameda County) to include the new I-80 Solano Express Lanes and a test of weekend tolling on the I-80 Solano Express Lanes. These pilots will be considered for approval by BAIFA later this year, separate from adoption of an updated toll ordinance.

MTC and BAIFA on the evening of Wednesday, April 23, will host an informational webinar about the proposed changes to the Toll Facility Ordinance. The webinar will begin at 6:30 p.m. and may be accessed online or by phone at:

• Zoom link: https://bayareametro.zoom.us/j/84200502355?pwd=MhJtYgPcMFT7t9NJ6yYGKDfNFBikSG.1
• Webinar ID: 842 0050 2355
• Passcode: 828986
• Phone: 669-900-6833

MTC and BAIFA will host a public hearing on the proposed amendments to the Toll Facility Ordinance on Friday, May 9 at 9:35 a.m. in the boardroom at the Bay Area Metro Center, 375 Beale Street in San Francisco. Interested members of the public are invited to provide comment at the hearing or to submit written comments before 5 p.m. on May 9 online at www.mtc.ca.gov/BAIFA-toll-ordinance, by email at [email protected] (please include "BAIFA Toll Ordinance" in the subject line), by fax sent to 415-536-9800, or by U.S. mail addressed to the MTC Public Information Office at 375 Beale Street, Suite 800, San Francisco, CA 94105.

MTC is the transportation planning, financing and coordinating agency for the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area.

SOURCE Metropolitan Transportation Commission