Hybrid Car Owners Lose Independence In Carpool Lanes

Monday may be the day we celebrate our freedom, but July 1 was the day hybrid car owners kissed that carpool lane goodbye. Unless, of course, they really have passengers.

Taking Caltrain to San Francisco or elsewhere? Riders will start paying an extra 25 cents for every additional zone of travel next month.

These and other changes went into effect Friday, July 1, for those who keep track of transportation costs, from bridge crossings to bus and lightrail transit.

Hybrid owners who enjoyed carpool lane freedom on highways and at bridge toll booths no longer enjoy that perk.

Caltrain's extra bump will bring a round-trip day pass from Zone 3 to Zone 1 in San Francisco to $13.50 up from $13, according to Caltrain. The one-way, four-hour fare to the city will go from $6.50 to $6.75.

The changes include:

• End to Hybrid Free-Ride: Solo hybrid drivers are no longer be able to use the carpool lane.

• Caltrain: Each zone traveled will cost an additional 25 cents

• San Francisco MUNI: $2 more for a monthly pass; $1 more for seniors. Cable car rides are up to $6.

• Golden Gate Transit: 25 percent more for the Larkspur ferry and busses. Sausalito ferries are up $1. Special ferries will cost $8.75 a trip.

• Bridge tolls: Vehicles with more than two axles will pay between $10.50 to $24.25 on state-owned bridges. Tolls on the Golden Gate Bridge will be between $13 to $31 for more than two axles.

The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency is bumping up the prices of items including monthly passes, cable car fares and parking permits.

The cost of the Muni monthly passes will increase by $2 for adults, and $1 for seniors, youths and the disabled. Cable car fares are jumping from $5 to $6, while the city's annual parking permits are increasing by $2, according to Muni officials.

Golden Gate Transit buses and ferries are also more expensive to ride. Bus fares and Larkspur ferry fares increased by 5 percent. Sausalito ferry riders now pay an additional $1 on their fare, and the fare for special event ferries to AT&T Park in San Francisco increased to $8.75, according to the transit district.

On Bay Area bridges, tolls increased for vehicles with more than two axles, including big-rigs and cars with boats or other trailers attached to them.

On the region's seven state-owned bridges, the new toll ranges from $10.50 to $24.25, depending on the number of axles, while the Golden Gate Bridge's tolls for multi-axle vehicles rose to between $13 and $31, with discounts available for FasTrak users.

Also as of July 1, hybrid car drivers lost a perk of driving solo in their fuel-efficient vehicles in carpool lanes.

Since 2004, solo drivers of hybrid vehicles with yellow clean-air stickers have been able to drive in carpool lanes, but that privilege will no longer be afforded, according to the state's Department of Motor Vehicles.

All-electric vehicles with white stickers will still be able to drive solo in the carpool lanes until 2015, according to the DMV.

The various increases are the result of local and state agencies trying to close large budget deficits as the new fiscal year began July 1.

The SFMTA faced a $45 million budget shortfall this year, while the Golden Gate Bridge District faces a five-year deficit of $89 million.

-By Eric Gneckow and Bay City News