Tuesday saw the official opening of new Express Lanes on Interstate 80 between Fairfield and Vacaville, aimed at easing congestion. According to ABC10, the lanes run from Red Top Road in Fairfield to Interstate 505 in Vacaville and are open daily from 5 a.m. to 8 p.m. All vehicles must have a FasTrak toll tag to use the lanes.
To encourage carpooling, vehicles with three or more occupants—including vanpools, buses, and motorcycles—can travel toll-free using a FasTrak Flex tag set to '3+.' Two-person carpools pay half price, while solo drivers pay the full toll. KCRA notes that tolls are real-time and adjust based on traffic, locking in when drivers enter the Express Lanes.
Although the lanes were temporarily toll-free, Sabrina Martinez of Caltrans told CBS News Sacramento that they are designed to let drivers pay for a faster commute: 'You're paying to get through faster so you're not stuck in slower traffic.' Tolls, which adjust based on traffic, range from 50 cents to $15 per zone, with a $10 penalty for unpaid use.
The new Express Lanes, developed by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC), Caltrans, and the Solano Transportation Authority, aim to reduce travel times for drivers heading to Sacramento, the Bay Area, or nearby regions such as the Sierra Nevada and North Bay wine country. The MTC’s Bay Area Infrastructure Financing Authority will manage the lanes, which feature four toll zones in each direction, with charges applied for each zone a vehicle crosses.
