Peninsula residents are upset about a proposal to charge commuters $6 each weekday to enter and exit San Francisco to the south, calling the plan "a slap in the face," "a crazy idea" and "ridiculous."
Already dealing with some of the nation's highest gas prices and, in some cases, hefty parking fees, drivers crossing the San Mateo County-San Francisco border would pay rush hour tolls to fund local transportation upgrades and, in theory, reduce traffic jams, under a proposal by San Francisco officials.
Officials said they would spend $60 million to $100 million to set up the electronic system, coupled with local transit improvements, starting in 2015. It would be the first local "congestion pricing" system in the country and could begin as a 6-to-12-month pilot program that, if successful, could become permanent.
Under the plan, drivers leaving or entering San Francisco at the southern border would pay $3 from 6:30 to 9:30 a.m. and another $3 from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. on weekdays, with a daily cap of $6. Commuters would pay up to $130 per month, or $1,500 in a year, if the tolls last that long.
"That would cover all my utility bills. It would be a new bill that I cannot afford," said Loraine Lee, 28, who lives in Daly City two blocks from the San Francisco border and commutes to a property management company on Treasure Island. She said because of the hours of her job and lack of transit options, she'd have no choice but to pay the toll.
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"I think this whole toll is ridiculous."
And non-commuters like Daly City's Annie Lyn and Mary Tevis, who travel to San Francisco daily for shopping and other trips, would have to change their lifestyles to avoid the toll times.
Daly City Councilman David Canepa said he thought the worst part of the plan was that it was being done "under the guise of trying to get people to take public transportation."
"It's absolutely nonsensical," said Canepa, who also called the plan terrible, atrocious and egregious. "It's a slap in all of our faces. They're trying to make San Mateo County residents pay a tax because over the years they haven't made proper investments in their infrastructure."
Locals also wondered why San Francisco would be getting all the money even though the border is shared by both counties, and what would stop other cities from copying them.
"We could do the same thing; it'd be a nightmare," warned Assemblyman Jerry Hill, D-San Mateo, of a toll at the same border to fund Peninsula projects, or tolls at each of the borders of all the local cities. "It sounds like another crazy idea. Where do you stop nickel and diming people? You should be able to travel from city to city without paying a toll."
Taxis and emergency vehicles would be exempt while some other drivers, such as low-income residents or those that already crossed a toll bridge that day, could receive discounts. Tolls would be collected electronically, via Fastrak and cameras, for those crossing the border on highways and major arterial streets. There are also dozens of local residential streets that cross the border, although there are no plans to charge tolls there.
The San Francisco County Transportation Authority said the pilot program could take place either at the southern border or in the northeast part of the city.
Tilly Chang, a deputy director at the agency, argued the toll would decrease traffic because people would alter their commute times and take transit to save money. The authority predicts traffic at the city's southern border would drop 20 percent during commute times after tolling.
"The cost of anything needs to be taken in context," Chang said. "It's not free right now. People are paying in time and having to pad their trip."
Nearly half a million drivers cross from San Mateo County into San Francisco each day on one of five highways, Caltrans data shows. By contrast, only about 20,000 people ride BART between the Peninsula and San Francisco each weekday, and another 10,000 take Caltrain, according to those agencies' records.
Chang said the toll would generate $60 million to $80 million in profits each year and would be spread out on projects to improve roads, transit, and bicycle and pedestrian networks.
The authority's board could approve further study at its meeting next month and the city's supervisors would need to endorse the finished plan. The state would also have to pass legislation allowing it, and it's even possible voters would need to approve the charges.
Another hurdle is the upfront cost, although the federal government previously offered New York City $350 million in hopes of persuading that city to launch the nation's first congestion tolling program. That plan died. Similar tolls are used abroad in Stockholm, London and Rome.
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