Right. Which is why the only sane way to deal with traffic is to ramp up the tolls until the utilization falls below 90% or whatever the threshold is. I don't care if the rush hour toll on the Bay Bridge is $50. It will cost less, overall, than having thousands of people stuck in traffic for hours.
I think you're exaggerating somewhat disingenuously. I commute over the bay bridge and it generally flows well, "stuck for hours" just isn't realistic. It's already $5-$7 which seems quite enough given that I already pay local taxes which are supposed to be for infrastructure.
As there's no alternative in public transport (that I'm aware of), if you charge $50 to cross the bridge, you will make it impossible to work in SF for people living North and earning below a certain threshold.
So these people will either have to move, or find a different job. That seems like a somewhat extreme outcome.
Offering attractive alternatives to commuting by car might be a better way to reduce congestion on the roads.
Public transport (BART + AC Transit) already carries the majority of transbay traffic, so I don't understand your claim that there is no alternative to driving.
