Golden Gate Bridge tolls would hit $7 at certain times of the day under a congestion-reduction proposal released Thursday.


Including a proposed base toll increase of $1, rush-hour commuters who pay cash would be asked to pay $7 to cross the famous span. People with FasTrak would pay up to $6.

People returning to San Francisco on weekend and holiday afternoons would face the same increase.

The variable tolls, required by the federal government to receive money for rebuilding Doyle Drive, could be in place by Sept. 2009.

Celia Kupersmith, general manager of the Golden Gate Bridge Highway and Transportation District, said the increases would not preclude regional transportation officials from setting up a separate toll to pay for part of the $1 billion Doyle Drive project.

“They still have a very hefty shortfall,” she told members of the board’s finance committee. “Tolling on Doyle Drive to solve that problem is still on the table.”

The full board will take up the proposal Friday morning.

Kupersmith outlined two options. The first calls for a $1 increase for cash customers who travel weekdays from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. The same toll would be in effect weekends from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. FasTrak commuters would have a 50-cent increase over the current $4 toll.

The second option is the same except FasTrak customers would pay $1 more instead of 50 cents.

Increases also would affect commercial vehicles.

Officials are already planning to increase the base $5 toll by $1 to close a five-year, $80 million budget deficit at the bridge district. A hearing on the base toll is set for June 11. Bridge officials may also take a final vote on the variable toll idea at that time.