In 1993 Washington state lawmakers ...

In 1993 Washington state lawmakers approved Public-Private Initiatives in Transportation (PPIT), a bill authorizing the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) to experiment the feasibility of financing transportation facilities by means of public-private partnerships. When the bill was signed into law, WSDOT began the task of selecting six private proposals for negotiation, environmental review and implementation.

Among the concocts chosen for implementation was the introduction of congestion pricing in portions of King, Snohomish and Pierce counties. Congestion pricing helps moderate traffic by the agency of varying the cost of driving in often the same way that telephone rates vary with time of day. An electronic toll rule charges motorists a per-mile reward for highway use, and, to encourage drivers to shift non-essential trips to other ways times or modes of travel, the highest pay s are charged during rush hour.

Phase I of the Washington cast will begin with the sale of