Officials: New temporary license plates stopping bridge toll cheaters

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- Fewer drivers are cheating their way out of bridge tolls, and the Bay Area Toll Authority says it's all thanks to new temporary plates on the backs of new cars.

Our media partner, the Mercury News, reports bridge toll losses fell 75 percent in May.

For the past decade, the toll authority struggled to catch drivers who skip paying tolls because new cars had dealer plates instead of license plate numbers.

Authorities say they lost up to $11 million in revenue each year.

Now, interim paper plates have numbers printed on them. The DMV is still working out a few bugs, like making the fonts consistent so cameras at toll booths can read them better.