Traffic Data
Highs & Lows
On Monday, January 4, 1982, a devastating rain storm struck the San Francisco Bay Area. Earth slides and flooding covered the highway and roads north of the Bridge. As a result, on January 5 and 6, there was very little vehicle traffic across the Bridge. On Wednesday, January 6, only 3,921 southbound vehicles crossed the Bridge. This compares to the average daily southbound count of 37,936 for January 1982.
During the evening commute on October 17, 1989, the Loma Prieta Earthquake jarred the Bay Area with a force measuring 7.1 on the Richter scale. The Golden Gate Bridge withstood, undamaged, the most devastating quake to strike the Bay Area since 1906. During this time of myriad traffic problems, extra bus and ferry trips were added to help smooth the commute as a flood of 30,000 to 40,000 drivers were diverted from the East Bay to Highway 101 and the Golden gate Bridge due to the failure of the San Francisco/Oakland Bay Bridge. On October 27, 1989, an all-time record of 162,414 vehicles crossed the Bridge north and southbound.
Safety
Today, 39 million vehicles cross the Golden Gate Bridge. The District works closely with the California Highway Patrol (CHP) and other local law enforcement agencies to ensure a high standard of traffic safety. The speed limit was reduced from 55 mph to 45 mph on October 1, 1983, to reduce the potential for critical accidents. Further, since 1983, the CHP has provided increased traffic safety enforcement on the Bridge and its approaches. On September 13, 1996, the Bridge was designated a double-fine zone to aid in enforcement of the 45 mph speed limit. Since then, accidents on the span have been significantly reduced.
Toll Data
FasTrak on the Golden Gate Bridge
In 1972, the District began to pioneer development of Electronic Toll Collection (ETC) systems aimed at increasing traffic flow by reducing toll transaction time. ETC systems utilize an electronic device mounted on the vehicle which sends a signal to a computer in the toll booth. The toll is then deducted from an account maintained by the motorist.
Working closely with the International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association (IBTTA), the District conducted extensive ETC research and development. By 1990, with ETC technology sufficiently advanced, the District had $1 million budgeted for ETC on the Golden Gate Bridge. However, before the ETC system could be purchased, in September 1990, California Senate Bill 1523 was passed requiring the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) to prepare ETC specifications for all California bridges and toll roads, including the Golden Gate Bridge.
FasTrak, the ETC system utilized on the Golden Gate Bridge, officially opened to the public on July 13, 2000. Visit the FasTrak website at bayareafastrak.org for more information.
Monthly Traffic Crossings
Toll History
The following is a chronology of Golden Gate Bridge tolls from the opening of the Bridge in 1937 to the present for two-axle vehicles.
Date |
Toll for 2-axle vehicles (unless noted) |
May 28, 1937
|
50 cents each way, $1 roundtrip, with a 5-cent charge if more than three passengers
|
July 1, 1950
|
|
December 1, 1950
|
5-cent charge for each passenger was eliminated
|
February 1, 1955
|
30 cents each way
|
October 1, 1955
|
25 cents each way
|
October 19, 1968
|
One-way toll collection begins, and tolls are collected in southbound direction only
|
October 19, 1968
|
50 cents southbound toll, free northbound
|
November 1, 1969
|
25-trip discount toll ticket book available for $6.50 (26 cents/trip)
|
December 1, 1969
|
25-trip discount toll ticket book available for $10 (40 cents/trip)
|
December 25, 1971
|
Replaced discount toll ticket books with 20-trip convenience ticket book for $10 (50 cents/trip)
|
March 1, 1974
|
75 cents southbound toll, free northbound, and 20-trip convenience ticket book for $15 (75 cents/trip)
|
April 16, 1976
|
Carpool (3 or more) toll starts and is set at free from 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. on weekdays
|
November 1, 1977
|
$1 southbound toll, free northbound, auto with trailer $1.50, 20-trip convenience book for $20 ($1/per trip)
|
July 1, 1978
|
Toll rate for Persons with Disabilities established at $10 for 20 trips (50 cents/trip)
|
November 17, 1978
|
Free weekday carpool hours expanded to include 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., for 3 or more in a vehicle
|
September 14, 1979
|
Morning carpool hours modified to 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m., and motorcycles added as qualifying for carpool toll rate
|
March 1, 1981
|
$1.25 southbound toll, free northbound
|
July 20, 1981
|
$1 southbound toll, free northbound
|
August 21, 1981
|
$2 southbound toll from 4:00 a.m. Friday to 4:00 a.m. Sunday, $1 southbound toll during all other hours, free northbound
|
August 29, 1981
|
$2 southbound toll from 12:01 a.m. Friday to midnight Saturday, $1 southbound toll during all day, free northbound
|
December 1, 1981
|
$2 southbound toll on Fridays and Saturdays, $1 on all other days, free northbound, PLUS Saturday-only 20-trip discount ticket book for $25 ($1.25/trip)
|
April 1, 1982
|
$3 southbound toll for auto with trailer on Friday and Saturday only, free northbound
|
July 1, 1982
|
All buses free during carpool hours only and $2 toll during all other hours, free northbound
|
January 1, 1989
|
$2 southbound toll every day, $20 ticket book for 16 trips ($1.25/trip), and auto with trailer $3 toll every day, free northbound
|
June 11, 1989
|
$2 southbound toll every day, 17% discount for discount ticket book of 12 tickets for $20 (effective toll $1.66), free northbound
|
July 1, 1991
|
$3 southbound toll seven days per week, with a 26% discount available when purchasing either a book of 9 tickets for $20 or a book of 18 tickets for $40 (effective toll $2.22), free northbound
|
July 1, 1992
|
$3 southbound toll seven days per week, with a 17% discount available when purchasing either a book of 8 tickets for $20 or a book of 16 tickets for $40 (effective toll $2.50), free northbound
|
July 1, 1995
|
$3 southbound toll seven days per week, with an 11% discount available when purchasing a book of 15 tickets for $40 (effective toll $2.67), free northbound
|
July 13, 2000
|
$3 southbound toll seven days per week, with an 11% discount available when using a book of 15 tickets for $40 (effective toll $2.67) or FasTrak electronic toll; free northbound
|
November 15, 2000
|
$3 southbound toll seven days per week, with an 11% discount available only when using FasTrak (effective toll $2.67), discount ticket books no longer accepted, free northbound
|
July 1, 2001
|
$3 southbound toll seven days-per-week with no discounts, and $1.50 per each additional axle, free northbound
|
September 1, 2002
|
$5 cash and $4 FasTrak, $2.50 per axle for each additional axle, free northbound
|
September 2, 2008
|
$6 cash and $5 FasTrak, $3 per axle for each additional axle when paying cash and $2.50 when using FasTrak, free northbound
|
July 1, 2010
|
$3 carpool toll; FasTrak required.
|
July 1, 2011
|
Multi-axle toll increased.
|
July 1, 2012
|
Multi-axle toll increased.
|
April 7, 2014 |
$7 Pay-by-Plate, $6 FasTrak, $4 carpool. Multi-axle toll rates also increased. |
July 1, 2015 |
$7.25 Pay-by-Plate, $6.25 FasTrak, $4.25 carpool. Multi-axle toll rates also increased. |
July 1, 2016 |
$7.50 Pay-by-Plate, $6.50 FasTrak, $4.50 carpool. Multi-axle toll rates also increased. |
July 1, 2017 |
$7.75 Pay-by-Plate, $6.75 FasTrak, $4.75 carpool. Multi-axle toll rates also increased. |
July 1, 2018 |
$8.00 Pay-by-Plate, $7.00 FasTrak, $5.00 carpool. Multi-axle toll rates also increased. |