Next Generation Bay Area Freeways Study

The Bay Area's freeway network suffers from chronic traffic congestion that continues to adversely impact the region even as travel patterns have changed after COVID-19. Demand for freeway travel is amplified by the Bay Area’s growing population, the long-standing imbalance of housing and job locations, and limited viable alternatives to driving in many parts of the region.  
 
Strategies that aim to reduce congestion without reducing vehicle miles traveled (VMT), such as adding lanes, have offered short-term mobility gains but often lead to long-term increases in driving and emissions with limited long-term travel time savings. Conversely, pricing strategies that manage freeway demand and reduce total VMT can improve travel time reliability, promote efficient use of existing road capacity and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. 
 
MTC conducted the Next Generation Bay Area Freeways Study in partnership with Caltrans to demonstrate early progress on Plan Bay Area 2050’s Strategy T5. The strategy called for distance-based tolling on Bay Area freeways to discourage solo driving when feasible, pay for transportation alternatives to driving and help achieve state climate targets. The study explored three pricing strategies — highway all-lane tolling, a regional mileage-based user fee, and dual priced lanes on highways — among others, while emphasizing intensive stakeholder and community engagement and technical analysis to identify equitable and politically acceptable pathways. A central feature of the study was its attention to how road pricing revenues could be reinvested to deliver broader public benefits and offset the financial burden of tolls, while maintaining affordability for drivers.  
 
The study concluded in summer 2025 with findings and recommendations synthesized in the following final report: