Nobody Rides For Free

If you walk up the street from my house and stand on a particular curb at a particular time in the morning, you can get a free ride across the Bay Bridge. Normally this little trip would cost you four dollars, if you drove yourself into San Francisco. But if you are willing to ride shotgun into that city by the bay, you're actually helping the driver of that car bypass the toll gate via the carpool lane. Mine is not the only neighborhood, and the Bay Bridge is not the only toll crossing that experiences this communal experience. It's a pretty rare thing, however, when something so simple could really create a win-win situation. It's a little like being paid four dollars to carpool.
All that laissez-faire ends on July the first. That's when the State of California will start charging two dollars and fifty cents to carpool across its state-owned bridges. It's hard to imagine the negotiations necessary to complete what used to be essentially a wordless transaction. Should each prospective rider stand on the curb with a dollar and a quarter? What about those who merely filled up the empty seats in their sedan? Splitting the toll four ways is a mess, and three is even worse. Now that easy commute with a stranger suddenly degenerates into haggling. Free is so much easier to divide.
Then there's the even uglier side: If you've got to pay the toll anyway, why hang out on the street waiting for a stranger? Hop in your own ride, crank up BTO on your stereo, slap five crisp dollar bills on your dashboard and head west. And maybe a few extra bucks for parking. And leave a little earlier since you will now have to wait in line with the rest of the chattel. Or better still, save up your nickels and dimes since they haven't started charging you to get out of San Francisco. Yet.