FastSouck

One of my biggest beefs with Bay Area transportation (aside from the generel ineptitude of both regional and citywide mass transit) is their toll system on the bridges. I don't have a huge problem with the tolls themselves, as even at $3-4 a pop the bridges are faster, easier and cheaper than the aforementioned mass transit. However, I am massively disappointed with the "Fast"Trak automatic transponder lanes.

As my East Coast readers know, E-ZPass is great up and down I-95 because approximately half the lanes at major toll plazas are E-ZPass only. Therefore, people with E-ZPass are rewarded for getting their act together and sail through the tolls, whereas idiots without it are forced to wait and suffer. I remember hours of agony waiting to get through the Jersey Turnpike tolls as a kid, and today it's a million times better.

However, here in California, the juggernaut known as the Bay Bridge has only TWO dedicated Fastrak lanes (out of 25 or so lanes total). Therefore, they're really hard to get to, and the whole endeavor isn't any faster than just paying in cash. A couple of weeks ago, I dropped Karla off at the Oakland airport at 6 am and waited at the toll plaza for at least 20 minutes on the way back. I was fuming.

And I am not alone, as this recent article demonstrates. So stupid!