Why are HOV lanes considered efficient?
HOV lanes are designed to maximize the movement of people rather than vehicles, so they often have more people in them than the other lanes even when they don’t look full. You may see only one bus a minute, but that bus could easily be carrying the equivalent of 45 cars. A standing-room only articulated bus can take 90 cars off the road during peak commuting hours. Overall, HOV lanes move about 35% of the people on rush hour freeways in only about 19% of the vehicles. The average HOV lane is carrying more than 1½ times as many people as the “regular” lane next to it, and is saving users time in each corridor. These averages are based on peak commuting periods and directions.
Related Questions
- Currently, the existing High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes appear to be underutilized. Why include them in the design in place of additional general purpose lanes?
- I haven noticed any HOV lanes near where I work or live. Where are they now and where are additional lanes planned?
- Why are motorcycles allowed to use HOV lanes, but hybrids are not?
