Bay Area Express Lanes
Bay Area Express Lanes give drivers a choice to save time by paying a toll and reward carpoolers with the same time savings at a lower cost. To learn how to benefit from Express Lanes, visit expresslanes.511.org.
Bay Area Express Lanes:
- Reward high occupancy vehicles
- Improve enforcement to reduce carpool lane violations
- Provide a choice to solo drivers to pay for a faster trip
Learn about how Express Lanes work, toll exemptions, pricing, enforcement and more.
Learn how to get and use a toll tag for non-stop travel through Bay Area toll booths and access to Express Lanes.
Free Rides, FasTrak® & Tolls
Carpools, buses and motorcycles pay half-price tolls or travel toll-free with a FasTrak® Flex toll tag set in the proper position.
Solo motorists can choose to pay tolls to use Express Lanes, but must have a FasTrak transponder. Overhead electronic signs display the toll rates. As traffic increases, tolls increase. And as traffic decreases, tolls decrease.
To use Express Lanes, get your Bay Area FasTrak and go.
Where are the Express Lanes?
The growing Bay Area Express Lanes network is made up of more than 260 lane-miles, including:
- Interstate 80 between Fairfield and Vacaville
- Interstate 580 through Dublin, Pleasanton and Livermore
- Interstate 680 southbound from Sunol to Milpitas and northbound from Fremont to Sunol
- Interstate 680 southbound from Oakland to Milpitas and northbound from Milpitas to San Leandro
- Interstate 880 between Oakland and Milpitas
- State Route 237 between Milpitas and Sunnyvale
- US-101 between I-380 in South San Francisco and State Route 237 in Sunnyvale
- State Route 85 southbound from US-101 to Evelyn Avenue and northbound from Moffett Blvd. to US-101
Future additions to the network include:
- Interstate 680 northbound from Milpitas to Fremont
- Interstate 680 southbound from San Ramon to Sunol
- State Route 85 between I-87 and US-101
Learn more when you visit the Bay Area Express Lanes website.
Partnership
Bay Area Express Lanes are operated by:
- MTC
- Alameda County Transportation Commission (ACTC)
- Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA)
- San Mateo County Express Lanes Joint Powers Authority (SMCEL-JPA)
Additional partners helping to develop, implement and operate Bay Area Express Lanes include:
- FasTrak
- California Highway Patrol
- California Department of Transportation (Caltrans)
- Contra Costa Transportation Authority
- San Mateo County Express Lanes JPA
- Solano Transportation Authority
- Valley Transportation Authority
Express Lane Planning
MTC is always planning new ways to improve Bay Area commutes and decrease traffic congestion.