When I first moved to California in 1973, the local San Francisco bridges all sported little signs that said “Free Direction.” At first, I thought to myself “What a friendly state - they are providing free directions to lost motorists.” Then I realized “direction” was in the singular and thought perhaps it was some weird government-speak.
Sometime later I solved the puzzle. The “Free Direction” signs were only on the North and East directions on the bridges. That is, they were on the side of the bridge LEAVING San Francisco. Then it dawned on me — they were charging an “enter the city” tax!
Right you are.
Your comment is wide of the mark. On most California bridges, tolls were doubled and only collected in one direction. It improved departure congestion from cities like San Francisco and reduced collection costs. As much as I hate California government, this was a good idea. What’s not good is that the original bridge tolls of $.25 each way were supposed ( by law ) to be suspended once the bonds sold to build the bridges were paid off. That happened decades ago. Now bridge tolls are in the $5 to $6 region and are used to pay for everything. Not as bad as New York, but outrageous nonetheless.