HOV - SF Bay Area

After we read the article in yesterday's Mercury News that indicated we would need to show proof of a FastTrack account, we went on line and established one right away. We printed out the receipt and mailed it in with the application. The news article didn't mention anything about the car needing to be inspected by DMV as previous information had it. I had my Prius inspected in January and have just been waiting for the right time. Anyway, I went ahead and mailed it along with the rest, just in case. But I hadn't read that there are 4 stickers to be placed on the car. My husband is gonna go bananas over that one. One is more than enough, I think.

 

Ok, davedog,
thanks for your input on this issue. It is important for bay area owners to know what to do.

I opened an REGULAR Fastrak account on 08/10 online, obtained printout of account overview etc. and submitted my application to DMV. I am one of the persons your mentioned.

On 08/11 I learned that a regular FasTrak trasponder is NOT what one needs, one needs a SPECIAL FasTrak transponder (not a special account - same account but different transponder!). Today 08/12, I took the BART to the customer service center in SF (near Fenny park) at 8am. There is NOT a long line (about 15 people) there. The process was friendly and quick. I got my transponder (which I did not get YET before I went there) reassigned to the SPECIAL kind and got the transponder, receipt, etc. ON THE SPOT!!!! I was on the phone with FasTrak person at 7am, he advised me to go in to their SF office to do this, so I did, and I am very happy to report that it is DONE!

At the office, 95% of people in the line are "hybrid people". We had a small hybrid gathering, talking about the policy, MPG and you-know-what. It was not boring at all, but my whole morning was wasted on this stupid requirement. I swear I am not going to use this transponder in at least 1 year. I will close it and return it as soon as I could....

Once I got the "receipt" (actuall a computer printout from their own computer - not a web printout), which shows your tag ID, license plat number, vehicle ID, name, address, etc. I resubmitted the application and $8 today AGAIN to DMV!

How about my previous application? I expect it to be returned with a rejection and my check back. No harm is done other than 37c of postage.

I advise people to go to SF directly and DON'T mail or fax the FasTrak form (even the special one for hybrids). The person on the phone told people (not just me) to go in directly. He said, no one is taking care of the forms and they are busy with the lines at the office already. Besides, you get your transponder and stuff ON THE SPOT. Not a bad deal at all.

Remember to bring your registeration (or a copy) when you go there. Ask me more questions if you got one.

Good luck.

 

Well, that's the pits. I know that there was no mention of the special hybrid fastrack transponder on line or in the news article. We rarely use the bridges so the transponder will rarely be used so I don't care about that but if we need a special account just to get the stickers and not the one we opened yesterday..... 'sigh'

Guess I need to watch my mailbox for the application to be returned.

 

kkister1492,
I think you didn't understand my post. There is no special account of FasTrak for hybrids. They have a special transponder for hybrids. Even if you have an account and need it for hybrids and applying for stickers, you NEED to exchange for special transponders. You don't need to modify your accounts, new or old.

Why a special transponder? because they want to charge hybrids on carpool lanes over bridges even though hybrids are allowed on carpool lanes. You still need to pay $3 while "regular" carpool vehicles (3 or more person) are free. Currently, there is NO transponder antenna over carpool lanes, Therefore, the special ones must be extra sensitive or something, I am not sure... If you have a hybrid with 3 or more people, you have to put your transponder in a Mylar bag to prevent it from being sensed and charged. I hope this is clear.


davedog,
I also mentioned in my post, I was in and out in less than 30 minutes. Definitely not FOREVER. At least it was faster than the last time I visited DMV....

 

See, we didn't notice that there were special conditions for opening a FastTrack account for hybrids. We were able to open an account on line - no problem. But (as I have since discovered) for the hybrid, you need to bring in or mail/fax a copy of your auto registration as well. I think I'll now have to wait for the transponder to arrive and then mail it back in with a new application, etc.

So, I guess my stickers will be delayed. Maybe by then everyone will be argued out about the proper/legal/acceptable placement of the 4 ugly stickers.

 

I have a hybrid vehicle. Can I drive toll-free in the carpool-only lane even if I am driving across the bridge by myself?

Yes. With the passage of the Federal Transportation bill on August 10, 2005 and Assembly Bill 2628 (AB 2628) on September 23, 2004, qualified single-occupancy hybrid vehicles are now permitted to use High-Occupancy Vehicle (HOV)/carpool lanes in the Bay Area during designated carpool hours, if these vehicles are displaying a distinctive decal or other identifier issued by the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). However, unlike HOVs, which are allowed to drive toll-free across the toll bridges during designated carpool hours, single-occupancy hybrid vehicles must still pay tolls when driving across the Bay Area toll bridges in an HOV/carpool lane. Tolls in the carpool-only lanes can only be paid electronically using FasTrakâ„¢.
https://www.bayareafastrak.org/vector/stati..._hybrid.shtml#1

 

kkister1492,
That was one of the points I was trying to make. I was in the same situation you are in. I opened an account 2 days ago (online, just like you did). I went into the customer service center today and the transponder has NOT been assigned yet! So, the guy assigned the transponder to the SPECIAL hybrid kind and gave it to me right on the spot. You DON'T have to wait for your transponder to arrive and then return/exchange it. Chances are that they haven't done anything yet to your account/transponder, and you still could get it corrected (no new account is needed). The catch is that you need to go to the customer service center in person in SF.

NOTE: if you log on to your account online and it shows no info of your transponder ID. It is a good indication that it has not been assigned yet. You can get it corrected.

 

Well, after reading today's paper, I've decided to just wait and see what happens to my application. They still don't mention the hybrid transponder just a receipt for a FastTrak account. There was, however, for those who never use the bridges, speculation that since the $40 is just a deposit refundable upon return of the transponder, one could return it after receiving the HOV stickers.

I'd really much rather just have a regular transponder and be able to switch it between our vehicles as needed. But it would be used sooo infrequently that it would likely get lost.

 

I believe there are people who will actually be last in line beyond the bay area people. It is those of us who purchased a new car during the last 60 days. I have read that we cannot get stickers or even apply until we get our car registration and plates.

 

Davedog - I did the same thing you did and already have my FasTrak Hybrid transponder. What DMV told me on the phone after talking to her supervisor was that they can't issue HOV tags until your VIN number is in their computer. They told me it can take up to three months to get your VIN into their computer and that it may be a little longer since car sales were VERY high in July.

I hope what I was told is wrong. Can you really believe what DMV tells you since all the people are doing there is reading computer screens. You never really talk to someone who is in charge.

If you read the code on line it is not clear cut. All it say if your application is deficient that they will contact you and tell you what is wrong. Deficient could be your VIN number is not in the computer or you don't have a license plate number.

 

The fastrak page at:

http://www.mtc.ca.gov/services/fastrak/hybrids.htm

Says that as an existing fastrak customer, to get a replacement hybrid transponder I need:

"A copy of your current vehicle registration that identifies your vehicle as a hybrid"

I just got my 6/10/05 registration out, and don't see the word "Hybrid" anywhere on it.

Anyone know how the registration is supposed to identify the vehicle as a Hybrid?

I notice that the field labelled "MP" (Motive Power, I assume) has the value "Q". Does that mean hybrid?

 

I called the DMV and they said that my registration wouldn't say "Hybrid" anywhere on it, that fastrak would go by the model and year of the car according to it's list.

The DMV guy couldn't confirm that Q for "MP" on the registration meant hybrid, but he did say that normal gas cars have the value G for gas in the "MP" field. So I think it's safe to assume the Q for "MP" means the DMV registered my car as a hybrid.