Tolls around SF, on PCH, 1000 Oaks?

Question

Hello, advisors! My husband and I will be picking up a rental car at SFO, driving around SF (staying in Mountain View), then heading down the PCH (I know about the detour), stopping at Avila Beach (thanks, LA_dweller!), and then heading to Westlake for a wedding before returning via LAX.

Should I accept the $15/day toll pass offered by the rental car company?

Answer

When driving around the San Francisco Bay Area, down the Pacific Coast Highway (PCH), and near Thousand Oaks, it’s important to understand how tolls work in California, especially if considering a rental car toll pass.

In the SF Bay Area, there are several toll bridges and express lanes where tolls are collected electronically:

Golden Gate Bridge – tolls only going northbound into Marin County.
Bay Area bridges like the San Mateo-Hayward, Dumbarton, Richmond-San Rafael, Carquinez, and Benicia-Martinez bridges – tolls are collected eastbound or westbound depending on the bridge.
Express lanes on freeways like I-680, I-880, and I-580 – tolls vary by time of day, require a FasTrak or rental toll pass.

Along the PCH (Highway 1) down to Avila Beach and continuing toward Thousand Oaks and LA, there are generally no tolls. The major tolling is limited to the Bay Area bridges and select express lanes.

Regarding the $15/day rental toll pass:

This is convenient if you plan to cross multiple toll bridges or use express lanes frequently, as it avoids manually paying each toll and ensures you won’t get billed later with added rental company fees.
If your SF Bay Area driving is limited to a couple of trips over bridges, it may be cheaper to pay tolls manually (via cashless toll websites) rather than paying $15/day for the rental pass.
For your route down PCH to Thousand Oaks and LAX, most of your driving will not require tolls, so the pass might not be cost-effective for the majority of the trip.

Tips:

Check the specific bridges you plan to cross in SF; some allow online payment after the fact without a toll pass.
If you think you’ll frequently use express lanes or cross multiple toll bridges, the rental toll pass provides convenience and avoids potential surprise fees.
Keep in mind that after leaving the Bay Area, you likely won’t encounter tolls until approaching the Orange County/LAX area, which also mostly uses freeways without tolls.

In summary, for a mix of limited Bay Area toll crossings and mostly untolled PCH and southern California routes, you can probably skip the $15/day pass unless you want the convenience and peace of mind. Otherwise, paying per toll for just the few bridges in SF may be more economical.