The Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District is a

special-purpose district Special districts (also known as special service districts, special district governments, limited purpose entities, or special-purpose districts) are independent, special-purpose governmental units that exist separately from local governments such ...

that owns and operates three regional transportation assets in the

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Go ...

: the iconic

Golden Gate Bridge The Golden Gate Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the Golden Gate, the strait connecting San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean. The structure links the U.S. city of San Francisco, California—the northern tip of the San Francisco Pen ...

, the

Golden Gate Ferry Golden Gate Ferry is a commuter ferry service operated by the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District in San Francisco Bay, part of the Bay Area of Northern California, United States. Regular service is run to the Ferry Building ...

system and the

Golden Gate Transit Golden Gate Transit (GGT) is a public transportation system serving the North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in California, United States. It primarily serves Marin County, Sonoma County, and San Francisco, and also provides limited ser ...

system. All three assets connect

Marin County Marin County is a county located in the northwestern part of the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 262,231. Its county seat and largest city is San Rafael. Marin County is acros ...

with San Francisco.

History and responsibilities

The District was incorporated on December 4, 1928, as the Golden Gate Bridge and Highway District to design, construct, and finance the

. The responsibility of regional transit service within the Golden Gate Corridor was given to the District on November 10, 1969, at which time it was given its current name. The District's territory includes the

City and County of San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

;

Marin Marin (French) or Marín (Spanish "sailor") may refer to: People * Marin (name), including a list of persons with the given name or surname * MaRin, in-game name of professional South Korean ''League of Legends'' player Jang Gyeong-hwan (born 19 ...

, Sonoma, and Del Norte counties; and large portions of Napa and Mendocino counties. The only other county along the California North Coast, Humboldt County, declined to join the district after its residents opposed the bridge's construction, fearing that the increase in tourists and newcomers would disrupt the local redwood lumber industry and various cattle and sheep ranches. The District provides regional bus and ferry transit service throughout the Golden Gate Corridor, which runs from San Francisco to Sonoma County. The District does not operate transit service in Napa, Mendocino, or Del Norte counties. Within Marin County, Golden Gate Transit is the contractor for a majority of bus service provided by

Marin Transit Marin Transit is a public bus agency in Marin County, California, in the United States. Originally formed in 1964 as Marin County Transit District (MCTD), Marin Transit was re-branded on 30 July 2007 and now provides a variety of fixed-route and de ...

, a relationship that dates to 1971. Golden Gate Transit has operated bus service across the

Richmond–San Rafael Bridge The Richmond–San Rafael Bridge (also officially named the John F. McCarthy Memorial Bridge) is the northernmost of the east–west crossings of the San Francisco Bay in California, USA. Officially named after California State Senator John ...

Contra Costa County ) of the San Francisco Bay , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1 = State , subdivision_name1 = California , subdivision_type2 ...

on behalf of the Metropolitan Transportation Commission since 1993. The District's primary revenue source is tolling on the southbound lanes of the Golden Gate Bridge. (The last of the bridge's construction bonds were retired in 1971, with principal and interest raised entirely from bridge tolls. A mix of tolls, transportation subsidies, and grants is used to support bus and ferry services.

Governing structure

Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District

The District has a 19-member

board of directors A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organiz ...

:Board Member Biographies
/ref> * Nine Directors represent San Francisco ** One is appointed by the Mayor ** Four are elected members of the Board of Supervisors ** Four are non-elected people appointed by the Board of Supervisors * Four Directors represent Marin County ** Two are elected members of the Board of Supervisors ** One is an elected member of the Council of Mayors and Councilmembers and is appointed by the Board of Supervisors ** One is a non-elected person appointed by the Board of Supervisors * Three Directors represent Sonoma County ** One is an elected member of the Board of Supervisors ** One is an elected member of the Council of Mayors and Councilmembers and is appointed by the Board of Supervisors ** One is a non-elected person appointed by the Board of Supervisors * One Director each represent Napa, Mendocino, and Del Norte counties ** Each is a non-elected person appointed by the respective Boards of Supervisors The District is headquartered in San Francisco and has administrative offices in San Francisco and San Rafael. Two members of the board also serve on the

Sonoma–Marin Area Rail Transit Sonoma–Marin Area Rail Transit (SMART) is a rail line and bicycle-pedestrian pathway project in Sonoma and Marin counties of the U.S. state of California. When completed, the entire system will serve a corridor between Cloverdale in north ...

board of directors, and operations are coordinated between the two agencies.

References

External links

2018 salaries for Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District
{{Authority control Golden Gate Bridge Ferry companies of California Bus transportation in California 1928 establishments in California Organizations established in 1928 Intermodal transportation authorities in California