Toll increase under consideration as Golden Gate Bridge loses $2 million a week

The cost to cross the Golden Gate Bridge could soon top $10.

The Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District is considering layoffs, furloughs and a bridge toll increase to make up for lost funds due to a precipitous drop in travel and commuting amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The district that operates the bridge and regional transit in the North Bay said it has lost on average roughly $2 million weekly in bridge tolls and transit fares since early March. Bus ridership is down 75% and ferry ridership 96%, while bridge traffic is 70% of normal.

Even after implementing cost-saving measures such as reducing weekday ferry service by 75% and eliminating nearly all bus trips, the district faces a $48 million budget deficit, according to a report.

The district received approximately $52 million in federal CARES Act money and expects to run out of the funds at the end of November.

The district board of directors will vote Friday on whether to move forward with one of three options to make up for the budget shortfall.

The first option is to eliminate 205 bus drivers and ferry operator positions, 146 of which are filled as of Oct. 23, and, according to CBS News, offer four months of paid medical for employees and their families, along with four weeks of severance pay or a $600-per-week stipend for 10 weeks.

The second is to temporarily increase the cost of tolls by $2 to prevent the layoffs, and the final solution is to increase the toll by only $1.25 and furlough employees one day a week.

It currently costs $7.70 for a car with FasTrak to cross the bridge and $8.40 without it. A $2 increase would puts the cost in the $10 range.

President of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1575 Shane Weinstein told CBS News that he is puzzled by the options under consideration. "Working diligently with the district on furloughs and alternative plans to layoffs, which didn't include a bridge hike, so again, I'm a little perplexed as to why this discussion is coming up right now," Weinstein said.