A San Francisco and California question on EZ Pass (FasTrak?)

[bbodb1]

DD is about to be PCS'ed to Tracen Petaluma and wants to take her vehicle even though this could be limited to a 3 month assignment - and then moving again. Nonetheless, I have been trying to do some research on EZ Pass thinking this might be a useful acquisition. To complicate the matter though, she is currently based on the east coast (at Atlantic City). Can anyone please provide some insight to the following questions:

• I have given up trying to find one EZ Pass (by any name) that will work on both coasts. That does not seem to exist yet.
• As Petaluma is north of San Francisco, even though she will only be there for 13 weeks, am I correct in thinking an EZ Pass (I believe the California version is FasTrak - correct?) would be useful for her during this stay. What I cannot tell by looking at the maps is how many toll situations will she have to deal with north of San Francisco (in and around Petaluma)?
• Given that she will be based in Petaluma, I am guess the best option might be the Bay Area FasTrak account. Given this little info, is this likely the best option?
• It appears there is a plate pass and a transponder pass option. Is one preferrable over the other - keeping in mind we have no idea how much it will be used?

Thanks again for any ideas in this area and if I discover any additional usage needs, I'll update the above.

 

[SmithOp]

There aren’t any toll situations I am aware of in Petaluma, its all the bay toll bridges and express lanes in the east and south bay. Fast track would be the one to get. I have a Fast Track account in SoCal and it works for all the toll roads and express lanes, they recently upgraded me to a new “device” that is just a small window sticker, looks like it has a chip in it like a phone sim.

Fast Track web site has a list of locations:

Toll Locations - FasTrak

If she is just out for a day of sightseeing, a drive over to Vallejo on 37 and there is a ferry to SF, it makes for a cheap bay cruise.

Golden Gate is its own toll authority, here is their tips for visitors, they recommend Fast Track also.

Toll Tips for Out-of-State & Out-of-Country Visitors | Golden Gate

www.goldengate.org

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[bbodb1]

Thank you for that info, @SmithOp - it is always good to hear from the locals!

 

[klpca]

Thank you for that info, @SmithOp - it is always good to hear from the locals!

Yes, Dave's info was spot on. There wasn't much else, if anything, to add.

Btw, my daughter went to Sonoma State (in Petaluma) and just loved the area. I wanted to give you information on her favorite beach area and googled it to make sure that I was giving you the correct information, and the following came up: https://www.sonoma.edu/campus-life/...r wine,campus surrounded by big opportunities. It's a great list (at least the outdoor activities - I can't vouch for the rest). My daughter and her friends spent a lot of time at Bodega Bay. https://www.bodegabay.com/

 

[Luanne]

I had to do some reading on FastTrak since we haven't lived in the SF Bay Area for some years. I know dh and dd both had FastTrak (and you can use it for parking at the San Francisco Airport) but I really didn't know too much about it. The biggest plus was that you could go through a FastTrak line and not have to stop and pay. Generally when we would drive into SF for the day we had enough people to be a carpool, another big plus.

I did notice that currently NO tolls are being collected at the toll booths due to Covid. It looks like you will be billed later on. I assume they are reading license plates. So it's possible that if you dd is only going to be driving the toll roads infrequently she might be okay not getting the pass at all.

Hope she enjoys her stay. It's a beautiful area.

 

[1Kflyerguy]

The airport parking option only works intermittently for me. But at least for me that only a minor inconvenience.

I believe the Golden Gate bridge has now moved entirely to FastTrack payment, or they will bill the cars owner via the licence plate. That was done as a cost savings and is not covide related. One downside to the tolls collected via a licence plate readers is that many rental agencies charge a fee to pass on the tolls to the renter.

I accidentally took a toll road in Canada, ended up with $25 fee so that Hertz could pass on a $1.25 toll.

 

[Luanne]

The airport parking option only works intermittently for me. But at least for me that only a minor inconvenience.

I believe the Golden Gate bridge has now moved entirely to FastTrack payment, or they will bill the cars owner via the licence plate. That was done as a cost savings and is not covide related. One downside to the tolls collected via a licence plate readers is that many rental agencies charge a fee to pass on the tolls to the renter.

I accidentally took a toll road in Canada, ended up with $25 fee so that Hertz could pass on a $1.25 toll.

From what I read on the Fastrak site the change was made due to Covid:

https://www.bayareafastrak.org/en/about/news-alerts.shtml

 

[DavidnRobin]

No toll going north across GG Bridge.
No toll going south across Richmond-San Rafael Bridge.

Forget FastTrak (IMO) - nowadays they read license plates and send bill. Cost difference (iirc) between FastTrak and plate reading is $1 per crossing.

When you get a FastTrak - it is reloaded every time you drop below a specific amount (like $25) - so when not using anymore - that amount is left on account. Not sure it gets refunded.


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[PcflEZFlng]

When you get a FastTrak - it is reloaded every time you drop below a specific amount (like $25) - so when not using anymore - that amount is left on account. Not sure it gets refunded.

It does. When I retired a couple of years ago and canceled my account and turned in my transponder, I got a refund.

 

[Luanne]

It does. When I retired a couple of years ago and canceled my account and turned in my transponder, I got a refund.

I still think it might not be needed for @bbodb1 's daughter if she's only going to be there for 3 months. I think when we moved from California we transferred ours to our daughter who still lives there. But the whole having to get a transponder, and then turn it back in when leaving seems [to me] to be a lot of work, especially if she won't be using the Fastrak much. Easier to just go through the toll booths and be billed later.

 

[PcflEZFlng]

I'm not arguing that she should get one. In fact, I agree with others that it isn't necessary. I was just answering David.

 

[SmithOp]

There are 2 options, keep a cash balance or have a CC on file. I have CC on file, only get charged when I use it. Only the cash balance option requires the $25 minimum.

No transponder to turn in any more, its just a sticker.



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[JohnPaul]

Golden Gate is a separate authority but you can now use FasTrak. If you don’t have FasTrak they bill via license plate and charge more.

We live in Sacramento and I didn’t think I needed it but it has proven to be very handy.

 

[Luanne]

Golden Gate is a separate authority but you can now use FasTrak. If you don’t have FasTrak they bill via license plate and charge more.

We live in Sacramento and I didn’t think I needed it but it has proven to be very handy.

If you live anywhere in the SF Bay Area it is very handy to have. If you are just there for 3 months, and won't be driving across a bridge every day, maybe not so much.

 

[bbodb1]

Thanks again to all of you for your help with this.
I was talking to my daughter today about where she might want to go after the completion of her A school - for now, her only requirement is somewhere warm.....
Clearly, she is not my child....

 

[Luanne]

Thanks again to all of you for your help with this.
I was talking to my daughter today about where she might want to go after the completion of her A school - for now, her only requirement is somewhere warm.....
Clearly, she is not my child....

Will your daughter have a choice in where she wants to go?

 

[bbodb1]

Will your daughter have a choice in where she wants to go?

As I understand it, somewhere along week 6 (or thereabouts), everyone in her A school will be given a list of choices for possible assignments. I believe each person can select 3 choices (in preference order) for their next assignment. There is no guarantee they will get any of their choices, but the CG does try. I believe they receive their assignment in (or around) week 8.

I do think that as part of the next destination selection process, each person can eliminate 1 or 2 of the Coast Guard areas (sectors) they do NOT want - but I'll find out more about that as she goes along. I've been watching several A school and boot camp graduations amazed at the number of places around the country the CG has a presence.

 

[Luanne]

@bbodb1 you must be very proud of your daughter.

 

[bbodb1]

@bbodb1 you must be very proud of your daughter.

Indeed I am - and thank you for asking about her @Luanne!
She is one of those kids who graduated high school but really was not ready to go to college. And while many kids match that description and go on to college and come out just fine, she had also heard enough stories about the debt racked up in situations like this (as students switch from major to major) to know she wanted to avoid that outcome.
It also helped her two older brothers are both members of the military (U.S. Army and U.S. Army Reserve) and she was able to see how they used their military benefits while she was completing high school.
Ironically, she now has more money saved than both of them combined although both of them are married. She was a '17 HS graduate and had she went to college would have been a senior this year but she now has many options in front of her - even if she does not decide to continue on in the Coast Guard when her first contract is up.

 

[TheTimeTraveler]

DD is about to be PCS'ed to Tracen Petaluma and wants to take her vehicle even though this could be limited to a 3 month assignment - and then moving again. Nonetheless, I have been trying to do some research on EZ Pass thinking this might be a useful acquisition. To complicate the matter though, she is currently based on the east coast (at Atlantic City). Can anyone please provide some insight to the following questions:

• I have given up trying to find one EZ Pass (by any name) that will work on both coasts. That does not seem to exist yet.
• As Petaluma is north of San Francisco, even though she will only be there for 13 weeks, am I correct in thinking an EZ Pass (I believe the California version is FasTrak - correct?) would be useful for her during this stay. What I cannot tell by looking at the maps is how many toll situations will she have to deal with north of San Francisco (in and around Petaluma)?
• Given that she will be based in Petaluma, I am guess the best option might be the Bay Area FasTrak account. Given this little info, is this likely the best option?
• It appears there is a plate pass and a transponder pass option. Is one preferrable over the other - keeping in mind we have no idea how much it will be used?

Thanks again for any ideas in this area and if I discover any additional usage needs, I'll update the above.

FYI: I have heard that there is some behind the scenes things going on to have just one transponder to be valid for use in all 50 States, however that situation may not actually happen until 2023.

My guess is that it will be EZ Pass (since a good percentage of the east coast population already have an EZ Pass).

It will be interesting to see if this ever comes to fruition.




.

 

[b2bailey]

DD is about to be PCS'ed to Tracen Petaluma and wants to take her vehicle even though this could be limited to a 3 month assignment - and then moving again. Nonetheless, I have been trying to do some research on EZ Pass thinking this might be a useful acquisition. To complicate the matter though, she is currently based on the east coast (at Atlantic City). Can anyone please provide some insight to the following questions:

• I have given up trying to find one EZ Pass (by any name) that will work on both coasts. That does not seem to exist yet.
• As Petaluma is north of San Francisco, even though she will only be there for 13 weeks, am I correct in thinking an EZ Pass (I believe the California version is FasTrak - correct?) would be useful for her during this stay. What I cannot tell by looking at the maps is how many toll situations will she have to deal with north of San Francisco (in and around Petaluma)?
• Given that she will be based in Petaluma, I am guess the best option might be the Bay Area FasTrak account. Given this little info, is this likely the best option?
• It appears there is a plate pass and a transponder pass option. Is one preferrable over the other - keeping in mind we have no idea how much it will be used?

Thanks again for any ideas in this area and if I discover any additional usage needs, I'll update the above.

With all you have described, the drive from East to West seems the toughest part. But, she definitely would not want to be there without a car. As for FastPass roads, if my memory serves me there are no longer any toll booths -- you have to go online and pay after the fact. One time I was driving from Bay Area to Lake Tahoe on a very busy Friday night. Since I had my two grandsons with me I decided to use the carpool lane. Later, I received hefty fee from Hertz for a ticket issued. Apparently the camera did not catch the two boys in car seats in backseat. What a hassle that was to fix.