[Citizen James]

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[billorites]

Discount for suicidals?

[Guillermo]

Man, it's 5 bucks to cross that bridge now??!?

That could be an expensive habit if you do it twice a day.

Wow.

[socal_parrot]

Do people still do that pay for the car behind you thing?

[Mark was here]

How much can you spend on a bridge?

Seems like the money is going elsewhere.

[Mr Ramsbotham]

If it gets any worse, someone will have to start a ferry service ... which shouldn't be very hard in San Francisco.

[Alia]

The GG Bridge toll hikes are "never enough". Incrementalist taxing. The libs in SF power said they would do it. I think it was Willie Brown and his group thought that those driving into "SF" for business should also pay taxes in SF (as well as their own county). I guess San Francisco is planning to secede from the state of CA.

[Verginius Rufus]

San Francisco...the only city with a cover charge.

I think it's still free to drive into San Francisco from the south, but from points north or east that would mean driving all the way down to San Jose first and would probably cost more in gasoline than the bridge toll.

[GOP_1900AD]

Of course, any consideration of cutting back on money losing busses and ferries is not on the table. If they were serious about being solvent, they would have it all on the table and not resort to this.

[Dog Gone]

Someday perhaps, the residents of the Bay Area will wonder why it costs them more to operate a bridge than anywhere else in the world.

Fix potholes, repaint every decade or so, and check for loose nuts. It's what we do with 99.99% of the bridges in this country.

It doesn't cost that much.

[Citizen James]

Aestethics are as, if not more important to San Franciscans than functionality.

From the GGB's official website:

The Golden Gate Bridge has always been painted orange vermilion, deemed "International Orange." Rejecting carbon black and steel gray, Morrow selected the color because it blends well with the span's natural setting. If the U.S. Navy had its way, the Bridge might have been painted black with yellow stripes to assure greater visibility for passing ships.

This might also have something to do with it...

The Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District employs approximately 900 regular full-time, part-time and temporary employees. Based in San Francisco, the District consists of three operating divisions (Bridge, Bus and Ferry) and one administrative division. The District offers an excellent compensation and benefits package.

(throw around 10 unions into the mix, and there ya' go...)

[my_pointy_head_is_sharp]

Why not just make everyone give a blood donation before they can cross the bridge?

[Clemenza]

Boo Friggin Hoo. To cross the Verrezano in rush hour is $10, $7 off peak. Its makes sense that the nancy boys who dominate the bay area would complain about a $6 toll.

[Axenolith]

Fares for the district's ferry and bus operations also are likely to increase.

Cut those perpetual losers loose to sink or swim on their own and the bridge could go back to $3 tolls...

[Tempest]

Ahahhaha!!! LOL!!! I guess taxing the hell out of people really does reduce a deficit. I wonder what new spending initiatives they'll introduce with their new fortunes?