Nationwide, toll plazas are being replaced by FasTrak-style services or a camera that notes your license plate and mails you a bill. Case study: San Francisco and the Golden Gate Bridge.
$19 million
How much San Francisco will save in salaries and benefits to toll takers over eight years
19,471,116
Number of cars that paid the bridge’s toll last fiscal year
30%
Percentage of those cars that paid cash, rather than FasTrak
5,841,335
Non-FasTrak cars that will now be mailed a bill, rather than stopping to pay in cash (assuming FasTrak usage remains the same)
$54,080
Max annual salary of the former Golden Gate toll takers
$56,000
Rough salary of the San Francisco mail carriers who will now be doing the toll takers’ job
[Illustration by Luke Bott]