FasTrak is the electronic toll collection (ETC) system used in the state of California in the United States. The system is used statewide on all of the toll roads, toll bridges, and high-occupancy toll lanes along the California Freeway and Expressway System.
As with other ETC systems, FasTrak is designed to eliminate the need for cars to stop to pay at toll booths, thus decreasing the traffic congestion traditionally associated with toll roads. Its use of technology to improve transit is in line with the U.S. Department of Transportation's Intelligent Transportation Systems initiative.
California's toll facilities are decentralized and operated by various local public agencies and special-purpose districts instead of having them all directly under the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) or another state government agency. Concerned that they would each introduce different, incompatible ETC systems, the California State Legislature passed Senate Bill 1523 in 1990, requiring Caltrans to develop a statewide specification that all these toll agencies were required to meet. Three years later, Transportation Corridor Agencies opened the Foothill Toll Road in Orange County, implementing the statewide ETC system for the first time, and naming it FasTrak. The state continues to delegate the responsibility of selling and maintaining FasTrak accounts to the different toll agencies.
Under California law, Caltrans was given the mandate to develop and maintain an open, statewide ETC specification. This specification became known in the transportation industry as "Title 21" after it was added to Title 21 of the California Code of Regulations.[1] It uses RFID technology near 915 MHz to read data from a transponder placed in a vehicle (usually mounted by Velcro strips to the windshield) moving at speeds that may exceed 70 mph (112 km/h). The RFID transponder in each vehicle is associated with a prepaid debit account; each time the vehicle passes underneath a toll collection site, the account is debited to pay the toll.
FasTrak transponders using the Title 21 specifications are not compatible with E-ZPass and other ETC systems used in other states. Under MAP-21, passed by the Federal government in 2012, all ETC facilities in the United States were supposed to reach some form of interoperability in 2016. However, neither penalties nor funding was attached to MAP-21, and therefore California did not meet the deadline. State regulators later approved a phase-in of transponder technology using the ISO/IEC 18000-63 (6C) standard, which began in 2018 and is expected to end in 2024. This would allow compatibility with systems used in nearby states of Washington, Colorado, and Utah; and also Kentucky, Indiana, Georgia, North Carolina, and Louisiana, plus NationalPass.
If a vehicle does not have a transponder, or if a transponder is not detected at the toll plaza, a violation enforcement system triggers cameras that capture photos of the vehicle and its license plate for processing. If the license plate is registered as belonging to a FasTrak user, the account is debited only the toll charge, and no penalty is charged, but no HOV discounts that would have required a FasTrak Flex tag are given. This is a backup in case a transponder fails to read. Otherwise, for a designated FasTrak-only facility, including most express lanes, a toll violation notice is sent to the registered owner of the vehicle,[2] or in the case of a non-Fastrak-only facility, including all toll bridges, an invoice (with no penalty) is sent to the registered owner. In the case of drivers whose vehicles are company owned or leased, as long as the vehicle license plates are properly listed, the violations will be sent to the registered owner and not the employee driver. It is for this reason that the License Agreement mandates that customers list all vehicles, including motorcycles, motor homes, and trailers of all types on their accounts so that when transponders fail to read the toll can be debited based upon the vehicle's license plate. A license plate may be listed only on one account.
A toll collected based on a license plate is called an image toll and can be identified on the customer statement by noticing the license plate number listed instead of the transponder number. If one fails to correctly list license plates on their account, the FasTrak customer will receive toll violation notices as if they were another driver. If a FasTrak customer receives a toll violation notice under these circumstances, they only refer to the reverse side of the Toll Violation notice and complete the section at the bottom of the notice that will add the new vehicle to their account. Conversely, a license plate should be removed from an account after a change in ownership, otherwise resulting in paying for another driver's tolls via the Image Toll process.
The California Toll Operators Committee (CTOC) helps coordinates the interoperability among the state's toll agencies and facilities.[3] The CTOC's members include:[4]
All toll facilities in the San Francisco Bay Area share the same billing, customer service center, and web site. The toll agencies in Southern California have separate billing, customer service centers, and web sites.[5] Anybody with a FasTrak transponder can use it to pay tolls on any California toll facility using the system. Each center establishes its own fee and discount structures.[6]
Each FasTrak account agency has its own monthly minimums / monthly fees (from lowest to highest)
| Agency | Area | Fee(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bay Area FasTrak | San Francisco Bay Area | $25 initial prepaid toll deposit, but no monthly fees[7] | |
| Transportation Corridor Agencies (The Toll Roads of Orange County) | Orange County | None[8] | |
| SANDAG | San Diego County | $3.50 minimum monthly toll, plus $1 per transponder.[9] | |
| Metro ExpressLanes | Los Angeles County | $40 initial prepaid toll deposit, plus a $1 monthly maintenance fee, if setting up automatic credit card replenishment payments; $50 initial prepaid toll deposit, a $25 transponder deposit, and a $1 monthly maintenance fee for accounts with manual replenishment payments.[10] | |
| 91 Express Lanes | Orange and Riverside Counties | $40 initial prepaid toll deposit if setting up automatic credit card replenishment payments, $50 initial prepaid toll deposit for accounts with manual replenishment payments. The standard plan consists of a $2 monthly maintenance fee, while the convenience plan has a $100 one-time enrollment fee with no monthly fees.[11] | |
| 405 Express Lanes | Orange County | $40 initial prepaid toll deposit if setting up automatic credit card replenishment payments; $50 initial prepaid toll deposit for accounts with manual replenishment payments. The standard plan consists of a $2 monthly maintenance fee, while the convenience plan has a $100 one-time enrollment fee with no monthly fees.[12] | |
| Riverside Express | Riverside County | $40 initial prepaid toll deposit, plus $2 monthly account maintenance fee.[13] |
The standard FasTrak transponder tag can be used by most vehicles. Transportation Corridor Agencies (TCA) also offers a sticker transponder that has the same functionality as a standard one.[14]
For those traveling on the HOT express lanes in the Bay Area, in Riverside County, or the Los Angeles Metro ExpressLanes and want the carpooling discounts, they will need a switchable "FasTrak Flex" transponder.[6] These devices include a switch that indicates the number of occupants (1, 2, or 3 or more) in the vehicle. This enables the open road tolling system to automatically compute the carpool or solo driver toll.[13] [15] [16] The Bay Area toll bridges and the 91 Express Lanes instead have designated carpool lanes, so any tag type can be used (although both the 91 Express Lanes and TCA agencies also offer the switchable FasTrak Flex tags to its users if they want to use the Los Angeles or Riverside County express lanes too).[6] [17] [18]
For eligible clean air vehicles (CAVs) registered with the California DMV, the Bay Area FasTrak center and Riverside County HOT express lanes also offer a special "FasTrak CAV" tag for those who qualify for those discounts on applicable toll facilities.[13] [15] Other toll agencies may instead offer a special account for registered clean air vehicles on their HOT express lanes.[17] [19]
For the I-15 Express Lanes in San Diego County, SANDAG only offers the standard FasTrak transponder, and instead instructs drivers that they can "declare" that they are a carpool or a registered CAV (and thus do not have to pay a toll) by removing their transponder from the windshield or covering their tag in the provided mylar bag.[20] [21]
Neither the Orange County toll roads operated by the TCA nor the South Bay Expressway toll road in San Diego County offer carpooling or CAV discounts.[6] [21]
The Bay Area FasTrak center, Metro ExpressLanes, and SANDAG offer a packaged FasTrak transponder sold over-the-counter at a retail setting, such as nearby Costco locations. Customers must still register their transponders with the issuing agency.[15] [22] [23]
A 2008 teardown analysis of the Fastrak transponder and analysis of its security issues was published by Root Labs, finding that they are updated remotely and do not use encryption.[24] [25] [26] Furthermore, FasTrak's basic functionality and specifications are listed under Title 21, Division 2, Chapter 16 of the California Code of Regulations, and are thus freely accessible to the general public. FasTrak units are also used to generate 5-1-1 traffic data, using sensors and antennae placed across various freeways. In response, the Bay Area Metropolitan Transportation Commission stated that they would contact the vendors manufacturing the FasTrak equipment and transponders to "identify potential risks and corrective actions".[26]
As the first ETC system in North America was installed on the Dallas North Tollway in 1989, many California toll facilities started to express interest in the technology. Because the state's toll roads and bridges are run by different government agencies, there was the possibility that a number of different incompatible ETC systems would be instituted throughout California. Therefore, the California State Legislature passed Senate Bill 1523 in 1990, requiringCaltrans, the state's Department of Transportation, to develop a statewide technical specification which all systems would be required to meet.[27] As a result, California was the first in the nation to require all of its toll bridges and roads to use the same ETC system.[28] This technical specification was later codified in Title 21, Division 2, Chapter 16 of the California Code of Regulations.[29]
When the Foothill Toll Road in Orange County opened in 1993, it became the first California toll facility to use an ETC system. Transportation Corridor Agencies (TCA), the local agency in charge of the toll road, named the system "FasTrak".[30] To this day, TCA still holds the trademark to the "FasTrak" name and logo.[31]
When TCA first introduced the FasTrak system, the electronic transponders consisted of a gadget about the size of a Walkman in which a smart card was inserted.[32] However, the smart cards were unpopular with both tollway officials and users because they cost more, offered little advantage, and customers were charged with a $10 annual fee (which has since been discontinued).[33] By the time the 91 Express Lanes opened in 1995, the FasTrak transponders were redesigned to be the size of a coaster that could be mounted by Velcro strips to the windshield.[34] TCA later deployed the FasTrak system to the two other toll roads they administer as soon as they opened: the San Joaquin Hills Toll Road in 1996 and the Eastern Toll Road in 1998. Also in 1998, the system was then deployed on the high-occupancy toll (HOT) lanes along Interstate 15 in San Diego.
However, the system had to be modified so that it could be used on California's toll bridges. After a test run on the Carquinez Bridge in 1996, it had accuracy problems in dealing with the 18 different toll classifications for different kinds of trucks.[35] After the changes were made and another test run, the Carquinez Bridge became the first California toll bridge to use FasTrak in 1997. However, bureaucratic inaction, technical difficulties, and financial mismanagement delayed the deployment of the system to the other six state-run toll bridges in the San Francisco Bay Area until October 2000.[36] Meanwhile, the Golden Gate Bridge, run by the independent Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District, installed their system a few months earlier in July of that year. The FasTrak system was also briefly used on the state-owned San Diego-Coronado Bridge until tolls were discontinued on that structure in 2002. The Bay Area FasTrak Customer Center then opened in 2005, merging the service center for the state's Bay Area bridges with the one that was being operated separately by the Golden Gate Bridge District.[37]
Since then, several other new toll facilities around California have either opened, are under construction, or are in the planning stages. They are all required to accept FasTrak as per the aforementioned state law.
In 2009, San Francisco International Airport began accepting FasTrak in all of its parking garages, including long-term parking.[38] Currently only FasTrak accounts opened from either the Bay Area FasTrak Customer Center or from Transportation Corridor Agencies can be used at the airport.[39]
When the Metro ExpressLanes opened in Los Angeles in late 2012, it introduced FasTrak transponders with a special switch that indicates the number of occupants (1, 2, or 3 or more) in the vehicle. This enables the open road tolling system to automatically compute the carpool or solo driver toll,[40] as well as allow the California Highway Patrol to visually check to see if there are more or fewer people in the car than indicated on the transponder.[41] For the convenience of their FasTrak customers in the Greater Los Angeles urban area who may also use the Metro ExpressLanes, TCA began offering switchable transponders in 2013,[42] and the 91 Express Lanes followed suit by 2015.[43] With the switchable transponders, the violation rate on the Metro ExpressLanes fell to 10 percent from the 20 to 25 percent cheating rate in toll lanes that do not require transponders for carpoolers, prompting Alameda County officials to include the system on the then-planned I-580 Express Lanes.[44] The Bay Area FasTrak Customer Center then started to offer switchable transponders, under the name "FasTrak Flex", in summer 2015.[45] For the HOT lanes in San Diego, drivers can "declare" that they are a carpool (and thus do not have to pay a toll) by covering their FasTrak transponder in a mylar bag.[45]
There has been a push to strictly use open road tolling, accepting only payments via a FasTrak transponder, a toll-by-plate account, or one-time payments via online or by phone instead of cash. All of California's HOT lanes only use open road tolling. The Golden Gate Bridge began requiring electronic payments for all tolls in March 2013,[46] and all the Orange County toll roads run by TCA likewise did the same in May 2014.[47] A plan to also eliminate toll takers on all seven of the state-owned bridges was approved in 2019.[48] On March 20, 2020, at midnight, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, all-electronic tolling was temporarily placed in effect for those seven state-owned toll bridges, and since 2021, all of them are now permanently cashless.[49] The only toll facility that still accepts cash is the South Bay Expressway in San Diego County, but it uses unstaffed toll booths with cash machines that require exact change.[50]
Under MAP-21, passed by the Federal government in 2012, all ETC facilities in the United States must reach some form of interoperability by October 1, 2016. In response, the California State Legislature passed Assembly Bill 493 in 2013, authorizing Caltrans and the state's various toll agencies to help develop compatible systems.[51] However, the deadline, which had neither penalty nor funding attached, was not met. California regulators later approved a phase-in of transponder technology using the ISO/IEC 18000-63 (6C) standard, released in 2004, which began in 2018 and is expected to end in 2024. This would allow compatibility with systems used in nearby states of Washington, Colorado, and Utah; and also Kentucky, Indiana, Georgia, North Carolina, and Louisiana, plus NationalPass.[52]
In 2019, TCA introduced a sticker transponder to replace the former plastic transponder.[53] [54] [55] The sticker transponder is similar to the eGo Plus toll sticker introduced by TxTag in 2005, SunPass Mini toll sticker introduced by SunPass in 2008, and the sticker tag introduced by MnPASS in 2015.
All eight toll bridges only collect tolls in one direction. All other toll facilities collect tolls in either direction, though some express lanes exist in only one direction of their freeway in parts or the whole of their length.
^ indicates that carpools require the switchable "FasTrak Flex" transponder.
HOV 2+ indicates that carpools require two or more persons.
HOV 3+ indicates that carpools require three or more persons.
† indicates that two-person carpools are tolled differently than solo drivers or carpools with three or more, typically at a rate intermediate between the solo and 3+ rates
| Name | Highway(s) | Location | South or west terminus | North or east terminus | Direction tolled | HOV | Account agency | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Antioch Bridge | San Joaquin River | Antioch | Sacramento County | Northbound | 3+ | Bay Area FasTrak | [56] | |
| Benicia–Martinez Bridge | Carquinez Strait | Martinez | Benicia | Northbound | 3+ | [57] | ||
| Carquinez Bridge | Carquinez Strait | Crockett | Vallejo | Eastbound | 3+ | [58] | ||
| Dumbarton Bridge | San Francisco Bay | Menlo Park | Fremont | Westbound | 2+ | [59] | ||
| Golden Gate Bridge | Golden Gate | San Francisco | Marin County | Southbound | 3+ | [60] | ||
| Richmond–San Rafael Bridge | San Francisco Bay | San Rafael | Richmond | Westbound | 3+ | [61] | ||
| San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge | San Francisco | Oakland | Westbound | 3+ | [62] | |||
| San Mateo–Hayward Bridge | Foster City | Hayward | Westbound | 2+ | [63] |
| Name | Highway | Location | South or west terminus | North or east terminus | HOV | Account agency | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eastern Toll Road | Orange County | Irvine | SR 91 in Anaheim–Yorba Linda | None | The Toll Roads of Orange County | [64] | |
| Foothill Toll Road | Oso Parkway near Rancho Santa Margarita | SR 133 near Irvine | |||||
| San Joaquin Hills Toll Road | I-5 in Mission Viejo | Bison Ave in Irvine | |||||
| South Bay Expressway | San Diego County | SR 11 / SR 905 in Otay Mesa | SR 54 near Chula Vista | SANDAG | [65] |
| Name | Highway | Location | South or west terminus | North or east terminus | HOV | Account agency | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 91 Express Lanes | Orange and Riverside Counties | SR 55 in Anaheim | I-15 in Corona | 3+ | 91 Express Lanes | [66] [67] | ||
| I-15 Express Lanes (San Diego County) | San Diego County | SR 163 in San Diego | SR 78 in Escondido | 2+ | SANDAG | [68] | ||
| I-15 Riverside Express Lanes | Riverside County | Cajalco Road in Corona | SR 60 in Jurupa Valley | ^3+ | Riverside Express | |||
| 405 Express Lanes | Orange County | SR 73 in Costa Mesa | Los Angeles County line | ^† | OCTA | [69] | ||
| I-580 Express Lanes | Alameda County | Hacienda Drive in Dublin/Pleasanton[70] | North Greenville Road in Livermore | ^2+ | Bay Area FasTrak | [71] | ||
| I-880 Express Lanes | Alameda and Santa Clara Counties | Dixon Landing Road in Milpitas/Fremont line | Lewelling Boulevard in San Lorenzo[72] | ^† | [73] | |||
| I-680 Sunol Express Lanes | Auto Mall Parkway in Fremont[74] | SR 84 near Sunol | ^2+ | [75] | ||||
| I-680 Contra Costa County Express Lanes | Contra Costa County | Marina Vista Avenue in Martinez | Alcosta Boulevard in San Ramon | ^2+ | [76] | |||
| SR 85 Express Lanes | Santa Clara County | Central Expressway in Mountain View | US 101 in Mountain View | ^† | ||||
| SR 237 Express Lanes | Mathilda Avenue in Sunnyvale | I-880 in Milpitas | ^† | [77] | ||||
| Harbor Transitway | Los Angeles | Harbor Gateway Transit Center | Adams Boulevard | ^2+ | Metro ExpressLanes | [78] | ||
| El Monte Busway | Los Angeles County | Alameda Street in Los Angeles | I-605 in Baldwin Park | ^† | ||||
| US 101 Express Lanes | Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties | SR 237 near Mountain View | I-380 in San Bruno | ^† | Bay Area FasTrak | [79] [80] [81] |
The following is a partial list of toll facilities that are either in the planning or proposal stages (sorted by highway number):
| Name | Highway | Location | South or west terminus | North or east terminus | Scheduled to open | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I-5 Express Lanes | San Diego County | La Jolla Village Drive in San Diego | Harbor Drive in Oceanside | By 2035[82] | ||
| I-10 Express Lanes Extension | Los Angeles County | I-605 in Baldwin Park | I-10 at the San Bernardino County line | TBD, pending environmental review[83] | ||
| I-10 San Bernardino Express Lanes (Phase 1) | San Bernardino County | I-10 at the Los Angeles County line | Etiwanda Avenue in Ontario | 2024 | ||
| I-10 San Bernardino Express Lanes (Phase 2) | San Bernardino County | Etiwanda Avenue in Ontario | Pepper Avenue in Colton | TBD, pending funding | ||
| I-10 San Bernardino Express Lanes (Phase 3) | San Bernardino County | Pepper Avenue in Colton | Ford Street in Redlands | TBD[84] | ||
| SR 11 Toll Road | San Diego County | SR 125 / SR 905 | Otay Mesa East Port of Entry | TBD[85] [86] | ||
| I-80 Express Lanes | Solano County | Red Top Road in Fairfield | Leisure Town Road in Vacaville | 2025[87] | ||
| Yolo I-80 Express Lanes | Yolo County | Solano County line | West El Camino Avenue near the Sacramento County line | TBD[88] [89] | ||
| SR 85 Express Lanes (Silicon Valley Express Lanes Phase 4) | Santa Clara County | SR 87 in San Jose | Central Expressway[90] in Mountain View | Spring 2026[91] | ||
| SR 85 Express Lanes (Silicon Valley Express Lanes future southern extension) | Santa Clara County | US 101 in Southern San Jose | SR 87 in San Jose | TBD, pending environmental review | ||
| US 101 Express Lanes (Silicon Valley Express Lanes Phase 5) | Santa Clara County | I-880 in San Jose | SR 237 near Mountain View | Fall 2026[92] | ||
| US 101 Express Lanes (Silicon Valley Express Lanes future southern extension) | Santa Clara County | Dunne Avenue in Morgan Hill | I-880 in San Jose | TBD, pending environmental review[93] | ||
| I-105 Express Lanes | Los Angeles County | I-405 in Los Angeles | Studebaker Road in Norwalk | TBD, pending environmental review[94] | ||
| I-405 Sepulveda Pass Express Lanes | Los Angeles County | I-10 in Los Angeles | US 101 in Los Angeles | Late 2028[95] | ||
| I-680 Sunol Northbound Express Lane (Southern Extension) | Alameda and Santa Clara Counties. | SR 237 in Milpitas | Auto Mall Parkway in Fremont | TBD[96] | ||
| I-680 Sunol Express Lanes (Northern Extension) | Alameda County | SR 84 in Sunol | Alcosta Boulevard in San Ramon | TBD[97] |