Driving

The San Francisco Bay Area has 1,420 miles of highways, including about 350 miles of High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes, 160 miles of Express Lanes, 8 toll bridges and a Freeway Assist service. Before your trip, check the 511 interactive map to view current congestion and incidents.

Additional Resources

  • Bridges

    There are 8 toll bridges in the Bay Area. All bridges collect tolls using all-electronic tolling. Drivers pay tolls with FasTrak or by receiving a mailed invoice. For more info, call 877-BAY-TOLL or go to www.bayareafastrak.org.

    Learn More about Bridges in the Bay Area

  • High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) Lanes

    Carpool lanes, also known as High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes, allow carpools, vanpools, buses, motorcycles, and eligible clean air vehicles to drive in them during commute hours. Other vehicles are not allowed. HOV hours of operation and carpool occupancy requirements vary by lane. During non-commute hours, carpool lanes revert to general traffic use. 

    Learn more about carpool lanes

  • Bay Area Express Lanes

    Bay Area Express Lanes are specially designated freeway lanes that allow vehicles to pay tolls, pay discounted tolls, or travel toll-free. Tolls increase as traffic increases and decrease as traffic decreases to provide a better, faster trip and to encourage carpools, vanpools and transit ridership.

    Learn More About the Bay Area Express Lanes

  • Freeway Assist

    In an effort to decrease traffic congestion and non-emergency phone calls to 911 while increasing motorist safety, 511 offers an option – Freeway Assist – which puts the power of a roadside callbox in your cell phone.

    Jump to Freeway Assist

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