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POLICY: FasTrak Policy & Procedures
ESTABLISHED: August 20, 2012
RESOLUTION NO.: Not Applicable; DATE: Not Applicable
I. FasTrak Policy & Procedures
A. Purpose
City employees may be required to travel over Bay Area bridges to perform City business or to represent the City of Richmond. Beginning January 1, 2021, all Bay Area toll bridges switched to automatic toll collection. Drivers must have a FasTrak toll tag mounted to the vehicle’s windshield to pay the lowest tolls at Bay Area bridges. Departments that travel over Bay Area bridges and wish to open a FasTrak account are required to obtain Director of Finance approval.
B. Policy
This policy provides direction on the procedure for opening a FasTrak account and obtaining toll tags to pay for tolls at Bay Area bridges. The City is allowing the use of FasTrak toll tags for City business in City Vehicles. Toll tags may not be obtained for non-City owned vehicles.
No City owned vehicle is exempt from toll fees, with the exception of Public Safety vehicles responding to an emergency situation. A personal transponder does not relieve the offending driver of any violations incurred to the City in the event that the FasTrak toll tag does not register 'Valid' when entering the toll area.
The ticketing agency for FasTrak traces offending vehicle ownership through the State vehicle registration system (administered by the Department of Motor Vehicles), and mails a Notice of Violation notification to the registered owner of the evading vehicle. In these cases, the offending driver will be traced through the City's car pool sign out or assignment sheets. The driver shall be held personally responsible for full payment of the violation.
City vehicles without toll tags will have a picture taken of the license plate and a bill will be forwarded to the City for payment. This is not the preferred method from the City’s perspective since there is a 21 day window to make payments or a late fee will be assessed. This 21 day window includes mailing the bill, forwarding the bill to the appropriate department and paying the bill. In the event that the City receives a fine, it is the department’s responsibility to pay the FasTrak fine within the 21 day window to avoid any additional fines. Setting up an account for use with FasTrak toll tags is the preferred method for crossing Bay Area bridges.
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Process for Setting Up a FasTrak Account – The department must obtain Director of Finance approval to open a FasTrak account. When requesting approval, state:
Business purpose to obtain the toll tags
Cal-Card holder whose card will be linked to the FasTrak account and who will monitor the program to ensure that tolls are for a business purpose. Number of toll tags that will be obtained for the department.
A list of approvals will be maintained by the Purchasing Division in the Finance Department.
Personally Owned Vehicles – Only actual toll charge reimbursement can be requested on an Expense Report. A request for reimbursement may be submitted through a Travel Expense Report as outlined in Policy Number AP508, "Travel and Expense" or in Policy Number AP 510 "Petty Cash". Any late fees, fines, etc. will be the responsibility of the offending individual, not the City.
All departments shall ensure that a FasTrak toll tag is appropriately placed inside the vehicle if an employee is crossing Bay Area bridges for a business purpose.