SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS RADIO) – The Bay Area's bridge authority has approved a plan to collect $184 million in unpaid tolls and late fees through a lien on more than a half-million drivers' vehicle registrations.
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By a 6-to-1 margin, the Bay Area Toll Authority Oversight Committee voted Wednesday to resume escalating unpaid violations to the California Department of Motor Vehicles. The toll authority had paused collections due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
A staff presentation shared during Wednesday's meeting said there are more than $50 million in outstanding tolls since last January, and Bay Area News Group reported later that day that drivers have amassed $134 million in late payment penalties. This has coincided with the toll authority no longer utilizing toll collectors during the pandemic.
The DMV will not accept transactions older than three years, meaning that some unpaid tolls will start timing out in 2024.
"I think we need to treat everyone like adults," David Rabbitt, a Sonoma County supervisor who sits on the board, said at Wednesday's meeting (via Bay Area News Group). "How can we walk away or turn our back on the significant amount of past due revenue?"
The toll authority voted to make a plan for Bay Area residents making up to 200% of the federal poverty level – nearly $28,000 for a family of four – to avoid a registration hold by paying in installments. Advocates for low-income residents, however, argue that enforcing registration holds would have adverse effects.
"A lot of our clients are literally living out of their cars," Ocean Mottley, an attorney with Bay Area Legal Aid, told Bay Area News Group on Wednesday. "So losing their registration is not just losing their car, they're losing their house."
The outlet, citing data released in April, reported that more than 396,000 drivers face between $22 and $88 in toll fees and late penalties. Another 101,000 have debts from $110 to $418, and collection agencies will call nearly 13,000 people who owe more than $1,650.
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