Maine EZPass commuters dreading toll hikes looming on Nov. 1 got some relief today from the Maine Turnpike Authority Board. The board approved a plan to phase in the increases over an eight-month period. But some commuters say the transition is a band aid, not a solution, to toll hikes that could ultimately swell by as much as 300 percent.

Turnpike Director Peter Mills says the old EZPass Commuter program had problems. It was complicated and cumbersome. Commuters had to sign up in advance to get discounts -- discounts that only applied to the specific exits they signed up for.

"The old discount commuter plan was very narrow in its application," he says. "It was not used by very many people. And it was difficult to sign up for and to use and to maintain."

The new program, says Mills, is simpler and more equitable. Drivers automatically earn discounts based on the number of trips they take on the turnpike. But when some existing commuters discovered that the new plan would hike their tolls by as much as 300 percent, they were outraged.

Now, there's a compromise, says Mills: a plan to phase in the new discount plan. "I think it answers one of the most common comments that we received in response to the decision that was made in August," he says.

Under the compromise, commuters will get steeper discounts over the next eight months than they would have under the original plan. But for many commuters, the overall cost will still be higher than it is now. So, what do they think of it?

"I hate it," say s Marcia Doucette, who commutes from Lewiston to Scarborough. "A transition into the rates isn't a resolution to me. I'm still going to be posed with a 300 percent increase come July 1st."

Other commuters, like John Dennett from Wells, says even the phase-in plan is unaffordable. "It still looks like a huge increase," he says. "It still looks like with the original plan going into effect next year, I'm still faced with the same amount. My boss isn't going to give me a raise big enough to cover that."

After hearing these complaints, the Turnpike Authority Board voted to revisit the issue before the phase-in plan expires in July. Commuters like Bob Wellman of Cape Elizabeth asked them to revisit the entire plan.

"I think they really need to take this eight months and look within, and see what they can do within, instead of going the easy route and right to the taxpayer base," Wellman says.

But commuter Marcia Doucette isn't counting on that idea. She says she's trying to figure out how she'll cut back turnpike use - most likely, she says, by only using it for part of her commute.

"If I had my way, I would totally stop using the turnpike and, ya know, rebutting this altogether," she says. "But unfortunately, I have two young kids, and I don't want to take out two more hours of my day that I get to spend with them."

Turnpike Executive Director Peter Mills says it is possible that the authority could adopt a different discount plan before July 1st. But toll hikes are unavoidable, he says, in order to maintain a safe, convenient road system.