Rate Increase for Some Toll Road Users Scrapped

In a break for thousands of Inland Empire commuters, operators of Orange County’s public toll roads on Wednesday killed a proposed fare increase for motorists who use transponders issued by other turnpikes.

Members of the operations and finance committee of the Transportation Corridor Agencies voted unanimously to scrap a proposed 50-cent rate increase next year for FasTrak customers from other tollways, such as the 91 Express Lanes and the I-15 toll lanes in San Diego County.

The FasTrak system relies on dashboard- or windshield-mounted transponders to bill motorists electronically.

“This would have been terrible public policy,” said county Supervisor Todd Spitzer, a corridor agencies board member and committee member who opposed the proposal. “It penalizes FasTrak users from other systems who use our system. Now they won’t have to pay a premium.”

The Transportation Corridor Agencies are two joint-powers authorities. They operate 51 miles of highways in Orange County.

More than 500,000 transactions a month are recorded on the Foothill and Eastern toll roads from customers using transponders issued by the 91 Express Lanes. Many of them are commuters from San Bernardino and Riverside counties.

Last week, officials proposed a variety of fare increases for cash-paying motorists, FasTrak customers and drivers who use the San Joaquin Hills toll road during morning and evening rush hours. Both boards are scheduled to consider the increases Dec. 13.

Riverside County officials said the proposal would have unfairly punished Inland Empire motorists who commute to Orange County using the 91 Express Lanes and the Foothill / Eastern toll roads. Riverside County Supervisor Bob Buster even called for a resolution urging the agencies not to pass the rate increases for drivers with transponders from other authorities.

“Orange County wants to improve relations with Riverside County on regional transportation issues,” said Spitzer. “The toll increases would have been a setback.”

Now only cash-paying motorists would be affected by a proposed 25-cent fare increase on Laguna Canyon Road and the Eastern and Foothill toll roads.

Under the revised proposal, fares at the main San Joaquin Hills toll plaza will increase by 50 cents for cash-paying motorists and 25 cents for all types of FasTrak customers. Those increases will apply Monday through Friday from 7 to 9 a.m. in the northbound lanes and 4 to 7 p.m. in the southbound lanes.

There will be no toll increase for FasTrak customers traveling the San Joaquin Hills toll road during non-peak hours, but those who pay cash will face a 50-cent increase at the road’s main toll plaza.