Transit Changes Go Into Effect

As the fiscal year begins on Friday, some commuters will be paying more for fares and to cross bridges.

San Francisco Muni is raising prices for monthly bus passes by $2 for adults and $1 for seniors, youth and the disabled. Cable car fares are also going up a dollar and the city’s annual parking permits are increasing by $2.

Caltrain is adding 25 cents to its base fare. And Golden Gate transit is increasing the price of some bus and ferry service by five percent.

On Bay Area bridges, tolls will increase for vehicles with more than two axles.

Also, hybrid drivers will lose one of their perks. Since 2004, solo drivers of hybrids with yellow clean-air stickers have been able to drive in carpool lanes, but that practice ends on Friday. Hybrid vehicles with white stickers will still be able to drive solo in carpool lanes until 2015.

The transit changes are all part of the budget crunch, as local and state agencies try to wrestle with large deficits.

Photo Credit: Peter Kaminski, via Wikimedia Commons

It's simple. Keith Mizuguchi loves to write and write and write some more. After taking a hiatus from the journalism business, he has rekindled his passion for writing over the last two years, holding a job as both a web and on-air writer for San Francisco news radio station KCBS. While he enjoys the news business, his true passions are twofold: sports and food. Bay Area born and raised, he lives in San Jose, commutes to SF and loves every minute of it. You can follow his food adventures on Twitter @foodie_keith.