Getting There

The evening carpool home last night (Wednesday, July 7) was fast and uneventful. A nice ride in a Jeep SUV. 50’s guy driving asks for toll contribution when we get in. He plugs in some sort of traffic device that is a running commentary on the local traffic. He also has NPR tuned in and later, KDFC (classical music station). All good sounds, except for the traffic device.

This morning (Thursday, July 8) a ride was pulling up for me as I walked up to the carpool line area. Looks like another bay area summer morning on the freeway – gray skies, light traffic. This was a Chevrolet 2-seat pickup truck. A UPS-uniformed driver was driving, which always makes me feel more secure – they spend the day driving in torturous traffic so the commute should be a piece of cake for them, right? I voluntarily drop $1.25 into his cup holder and he chuckles. “Oh, ok”, he shrugs. He says he doesn’t care one way or the other. “I saw a woman get out of a car in the line yesterday”, he says. “She wouldn’t pay the toll, so I guess the driver kicked her out.” He says he’s heard other riders say they won’t pay.

Now that we’re sort of settling into the shock of paying a toll in the carpool lane, I’ve been thinking about how this affects the driver/rider relationship. In a sense, riders have ALWAYS been paying. Before the actual FasTrack toll situation, our presence in a commute car saved the driver $4 each way – that’s $8 that the carpool driver is ahead of the non-carpool folks. Carpool riders now, even with the toll, are saving the driver $3.50 on the Bay Bridge and $2.50 on the Carquinez, or $6 a day if you come from Vallejo. And if the riders, in addition, pay the $2.50 toll for the driver, its $5 across the Carquinez Bridge and $6 across the Bay Bridge that’s in the driver’s pocket.

Yes, I know the driver pays insurance, gas, parking, but if they drove alone they would still pay insurance, gas, parking PLUS the $11 a day toll.

So – to pay or not to pay. What’s fair? And if riders are coughing up the entire toll round trip, should we have more say in what’s on the radio, the temperature of the car, the conversation?

I was anticipating (hoping) that the mutual sharing of the toll would promote more of a partnership between rider and driver, but am beginning to wonder if it’s just going to become an issue of contention. “You’re getting a ride, dammit, so pay up and shut up!” Or “We’re paying your toll, so turn off that damn hip hop!”

Filed under: Car Pooling Etiquette, Casual Carpooling, commute, casual car pool, Today's Commute, Tolls for car pools, Uncategorized | 5 Comments »

July 6, Tuesday evening, San Francisco

I got to the carpool line at 5 Tuesday evening and perhaps beat the crowd. There was a line up of about 20 riders, but the cars were flowing along. A great self-appointed ‘monitor’ – Brotha Clint – is keeping us all moving. “That’s b-r-o-t-h-a, not brother” he tells me when I ask him his name. He coaxes 3 riders into most cars instead of the required 2, and flags the cars along. He’s terrific! I’m in the front seat of a Chrysler sedan with two riders in the back seat. A lovely car. We pull out our toll dollars, but the driver turns them down. “You’re keeping me out of a traffic jam”, he says. We all say thank you. He’s a cute Kevin Costner-looking guy. He says that the increase in toll will prompt him to take BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit – our ‘subway’ system) more often on days when he misses the carpool hours. Traffic’s not too bad until we cross the Bay Bridge and then it’s hallelujah time for the carpool lane. We are rolling along past the 4 crawling lanes of single drivers.

July 7, Wednesday morning, Vallejo

A short line of riders and not a long wait, thankfully. It’s another chilly gray morning. I turn down the first car – a tiny sporty roadster. My ride is a Land Rover, the driver a young woman with long brown hair, wearing jeans and a black and white checkered shirt. A very serious 30’s something. She asks for toll when we get in and I and the other passenger each give her $1.25. The GPS on the dash is keeping us on track, lest we forget where we’re going. A highly fragrant orange pine tree air freshener hangs by the driver’s key ring. Nice, light traffic – even lighter in our lane. I don’t see a transponder but just before the toll gates the driver reaches across the front seat to the glove box and pulls it out, still in its silver wrapper and slides it against the windshield. She wraps it back up after we pass the toll area. I noticed the Cash Only line at the toll gates was long and barely moving. The single-driver FasTrak lanes were backed up a bit, but moving through.

Filed under: Car Pooling Etiquette, Casual Carpooling, commute, casual car pool, Today's Commute, Tolls for car pools, Uncategorized | Leave a comment »

Toll Day is here. I arrive at the Vallejo carpool line to see 10 cars lined up waiting for rides, and I’m the only rider. My ride is the front seat of a big Chrysler 300 Sedan. A lady passenger is in the back seat and the driver is a mellow guy in a t-shirt. I ask “Do you have your toll box ready?” “Uh, no not yet,” he replies a little groggily. I ask him if he drove car pool last night. “No, this is my first day back at work. We just had a baby.” That explains the ‘groggy’ response. We talk about the wonder and exhaustion of newborns. He’s pretty overwhelmed by it all – his first child.

I am still recovering from last night’s commute. I thought I’d ride one last time in the toll-free carpool line so at about 5 p.m. last evening I took Muni down Market and walked down Beale Street to Howard where the carpool lines congregate. There’s half a dozen pick up spots there for Oakland, Richmond, Hercules, Fairfield, North Berkeley, all clearly marked with signs. The Vallejo line is always the longest, and last night was no exception – 60 or 70 people waiting for a ride. I noticed that the traffic on Beale was getting really heavy – almost to the point of gridlock – and then found out that a couple of things had happened. First, there was a Giants game, which always fouls up the evening departing traffic, and then there was a suicide attempt at the Embarcadero BART station, which further aggravated the traffic. Apparently both BART and Muni service were stalled for awhile. It got pretty crazy and we wound up waiting well over an hour. I got a ride with 2 other passengers at about 6:15 and we realized we could never make the toll gate at the Carquinez Bridge before 7 p.m. At 7 o’clock, the carpool lane ends and the toll is the same for everyone. We all agreed to contribute to the toll (a dress rehearsal for today’s new carpool toll). I finally got home at 7:15.

Our ride today is off to a good start. Traffic is very light because it’s summer and a holiday week, but I’m surprised there aren’t more drivers car-pooling. That $6 toll is steep! Approaching the Richmond-El Sobrante area traffic thickens and I look at those 3 lanes to my right, all single drivers, no passengers, and think about each of them paying that $6 at the toll plaza. I and the back seat passenger both get out $1.25 for the driver, who at first declines, but we insist, and I lay the money on the tray between the seats. I don’t see a FasTrack transponder in his window and ask him about it. “No, I don’t have it yet, I’m supposed to get it tomorrow”, he says. I tell him not to worry, that today the penalty is waived, as long as you prove you are getting FasTrack.

The non-carpool lanes look pretty congested at the toll booths, when we approach at 8 a.m., more so than usual for a light day, but the carpool lane isn’t affected at all, and we fly right through.

Another comment on the commute last night – as we all waited and waited, and waited! for a ride, we talked. And the riders are not happy about the toll. People opened up a bit more than they usually do when we’re in a commute car. And the long wait made tempers and emotions flare a bit. “They don’t care about us”, one woman said. “It’s just the money they care about.”

Filed under: Car Pooling Etiquette, Casual Carpooling, commute, casual car pool, Today's Commute, Tolls for car pools, Uncategorized | 2 Comments »

Check out the blog video link on the left side of your screen (Carpooling in the Bay Area) and you can see the news segment (and maybe yourself!)that aired on KPIX-TV -Channel 5 – last night. Carpoolers (both drivers and riders), as well as myself, Commuter Gal, were interviewed from both the Vallejo and Oakland casual carpools. Kudos to Gerry Watson, KPIX producer, for putting together a great, informative piece on casual carpooling and the new toll issues!

The line today is at least a block long. If it’s vacation time for all the drivers, why not for the riders? After a 20-minute wait, I’m rewarded with a super ride in a lovely Volvo Sedan. The two young fellows in front are chuckling and sipping coffee as I get in and we exchange greetings. The driver is sporting a blue tooth and wearing a terrific pink dress shirt. Traffic is very light again and as we approach the toll area, I ask the driver if he drives the carpool regularly and what he thinks about the toll. “Yes, I drive most days. I don’t have to pay for parking, or I probably wouldn’t.” He expects riders to contribute to the toll. I discuss my concerns about the vulnerability of the casual carpool and tell him about this blog, and the KPIX interviews. He seems pleased to learn that he (and his shirt) will be a part of today’s blog and hastens to explain that he typically wears a tie with his shirts, and a suit, but not while commuting.

As we near the end of the trip, we talk about the possibility of early morning toll gate chaos as the new toll begins on Thursday. “If people don’t have the money, the bridge toll people will send them a bill”, he says. He thinks it’s about $28 if you go through the toll gate without paying. I checked after I got to work and there is a $25 violation fee plus whatever the bridge toll is. They take a picture of your car and license plate as you pass through the gate and track you down. If you ignore the ticket they send you, they’ll send another for $45 and after that they’ll come after you.

Be sure you have your FasTrak account set up by Thursday morning if you’re a carpool driver, and if you’re riding in a casual carpool, have a dollar and some change ready to contribute to the toll. One more day to go.

Filed under: Car Pooling Etiquette, Casual Carpooling, commute, casual car pool, Today's Commute, Tolls for car pools, Uncategorized | 4 Comments »

Wonderful hot weekend. Today is a warm morning and a quick moving line. I am in a gorgeous White Chrysler Sedan. The driver is a good-looking dark-skinned man wearing a white linen jacket. A photo of a baby girl is propped up on the shelf below the dash. A new daughter, I bet. All visual treats.

The passenger in the back seat coughs and sniffles the entire trip and I hope she’s not contagious. KBLX Radio talks about the death of the great Senator Byrd. A fine man who gave us a lot.

A strange phenomenon today – single driver cars keep pulling ahead of us into the carpool lane. So far I have counted 5. There seems to be lots of aggressive lane-changing going on in all the lanes this morning. The last time I saw such frenzied driving was the day the O.J. Simpson verdict was announced and I was driving back from Burbank to Pasadena. People were driving all over the freeway like some panicked herd of wildebeests.

Perhaps the weather has set everyone off. There’s a warm haze laying over the city as we approach the bridge. Tide is low and a few shore birds are poking around in the mud and shallow water. The vacation-traffic is light and we’re quickly into the city.

Two more days to toll-time. Get your dollar bills ready.

Filed under: Car Pooling Etiquette, Casual Carpooling, commute, casual car pool, Today's Commute, Tolls for car pools, Uncategorized | Leave a comment »