You are ignoring the very significant cost of maintaining a bridge of this size and complexity in an earthquake and wind risk zone. The tolls (along with bus and ferry fares) collectively bring in $156 million per year, all of which goes directly back into the bridge. It has 1.2 million rivets, 27,500 strands of wire -- All of which must be checked by trained engineers periodically. It has to be repainted frequently (salt spray is hell on structures). The GG Bridge District pays for a fleet of buses and ferries, which take tens of thousands of people from Marin County into San Francisco, reducing the car traffic on the bridge. On top of all that, the district has to finance several major capital projects-$400 million into retrofitting the bridge against earthquakes, $50 million for a suicide barrier and another $75 million to replacing the southern approach roadways. I agree that everyone benefits from having a bridge like this--but with the continuing costs of a structure of this magnitude, it makes perfect sense to charge a user fee.
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You are ignoring the very significant cost of maintaining a bridge of this size and complexity in an earthquake and wind risk zone. The tolls (along with bus and ferry fares) collectively bring in $156 million per year, all of which goes directly back into the bridge. It has 1.2 million rivets, 27,500 strands of wire -- All of which must be checked by trained engineers periodically. It has to be repainted frequently (salt spray is hell on structures). The GG Bridge District pays for a fleet of buses and ferries, which take tens of thousands of people from Marin County into San Francisco, reducing the car traffic on the bridge. On top of all that, the district has to finance several major capital projects-$400 million into retrofitting the bridge against earthquakes, $50 million for a suicide barrier and another $75 million to replacing the southern approach roadways. I agree that everyone benefits from having a bridge like this--but with the continuing costs of a structure of this magnitude, it makes perfect sense to charge a user fee.