HOV - SF Bay Area

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I have had a normal transponder for over a year. If you have the correct number of occupants and go through the car pool lane, you are told to use the mylar bag to keep from being charged. So, if I get the stickers and use the car pool lane, I'm asked to do the same thing. It doesn't seem that the issue is having an antenna to collect the toll. In fact, anyone not living in the designated counties but having a transponder will be in this situation whenever they crossed a bridge. I don't see the benefit of a special transponder. I would like to know if it looks different than the one I've been using. Maybe davedog or mmstuart could post a picture of their "hybrid suitable" transponder.

 

The transponder is the same transponder they use for normal FasTrak. All they do is assign the transponder ID as a Hybrid one. They tack a 3/4" inch green circle on it to remind you that it is the Hybird one incase you have other transponders. In the past you were able to more your transponder between cars.

Truthfully I am at a loss as why they want you to have a special transponder. If they were not going to charge us for crossing the bridges I can see why they would want us to have special transponders. But since they are charging Hybrids to cross the bridge I can see no logical reason to force to have a special transponder.

My guess is that they think that people are not going to know that they can't use the bridges for free. I wonder if they are going to put signage up around at all the bridges saying that Hybrids can use the car pool lane, but must pay the bridge toll. Also, what happens to people who are from outside the Bay Area, like Sacramento for example? Are they going to be forced to drive up the HOV lane and then cross into a normal lane to pay.

I wonder how many people are going to get fines for using the HOV lane across the bay area bridges without paying.

The bridge authority had over a year to think about all this.

 

If they are the same, then why in the world do they go through the exchange process for existing accounts? All they would have to do is designate one of my transponders as the "hybrid" transponder (I can put a green spot on it) and call it done. This is one big PITA. I blame FasTrak as much as the bridge districts. Whoever implemented this system should go the way of the former governor....

 

As I said, I believe the whole exercise was done so that we keep the Hybrid transponder in our Hybrid car. The other FasTrak transponders can be used in any car you own. They probably came up with the idea when at first they were going to allow Hybrid cars to cross the bridge for free. Probably someone for got the original reason they came up with this idea and now are going to torture everyone .

It is kinda like a story I heard one. A woman every Christmas would purchase a Ham and cut the end off if before cooking it in the oven. One year her husband asked her why she cut off the end. Her answer was that her mom always cut off the end. The husband then called his mother-in-law and asked her why she cut off the end of the ham. She responded to "to get it to fit in her pan.

My gut tells me that is what is happening here.