On Wednesday, Turnpike Authority commissioners unanimously approved a toll increase that will bring time-variable toll rates to New Jersey within the year. Governor Whitman had approved the measure Tuesday.

Tolls are set to increase 20% for cash-paying motorists by January 1, 2001, and vehicles outfitted with E-Z Pass travelling during weekends or peak hours - 7-9 a.m. and 5-7 p.m. - will face an 8% hike. But drivers with E-Z Pass on the Turnpike during weekday off-peak hours will suffer no change, creating an incentive to adopt the electronic fare-collection technology and to drive at less crowded times. E-Z Pass is expected to function along the Turnpike's full length on May 22nd.

The Turnpike's program will be the largest value pricing experiment in the country. Carpool-lane buy-in schemes are in place in San Diego, Orange County, CA, and Houston, and trucks pay rush hour premiums on the Tappan Zee Bridge, but none of these apply variable prices to all passenger cars on the road. Other highway authorities are considering pricing policies, but none have yet taken the initiative to move from blue-print to reality.

Transportation watchers expect other toll agencies in the region to follow the Turnpike's lead over the next few years.