The Golden Gate Bridge District has announced plans to increase the toll on the Golden Gate Bridge anywhere from 50-cents to $2, which is not good news for those who took this week’s online poll at petaluma360.com. A majority of readers were against the boost in  fees.
Here were some of the comments.
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“Not one penny more till they publish the exact cost of what it takes to maintain the bridge and subsidize the transit system.”
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“We are also paying for things that are not part of the bridge when we pay the toll. Stop tapping the bridge funding for other stuff and we won’t need a toll increase.”
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“This is just like raising park fees. In the end, public services are only accessible to the wealthy.”
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“The board of directors should be abolished. When the construction bonds to build the bridge were retired in 1971, crossing the bridge should have become free (or a minimal toll devoted to bridge maintenance). But to keep their little empire, the district created the ferry and bus divisions which need funding from the bridge tolls to operate.”
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“Since the ‘pay as you go’ system started last April, I’ve driven over the bridge countless times in my three different vehicles and have never received a bill for my tolls. Think of how many people are in the same position as me and have never paid. That’s tens of thousands of dollars if not more. And now they want an increase tolls again?”
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“It will never end. Get ready for partial toll roads like on the east coast, lanes for prepaid drivers only and continued increases on bridge fares. Unfortunately, there are no other solutions from the minds of those who rule. Guess we are all being held hostage.”
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“Unions drive up labor costs with unfundable pensions and outrageous benefits. They have politicians in the their pockets.Vote no on any fee or tax increases until the government reigns in their spending — no to unions.”
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“They need to make some concessions with their huge pensions.”
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“The bridge district should be abolished and the Golden Gate Bridge operated and maintained by the state.”