TIME TO RETHINK CARPOOL LANES

Recently released work trip data from the 2000 census shows that carpooling efforts have not been very successful. Despite the billions of dollars expended to add carpool lanes to congested freeways, carpooling declined from 13.4% of work trips in 1990 to 11.2% in 2000. Some transit advocates have resented the use of carpool lanes all along, taking the position that HOV lanes were originally conceived as busways and should be converted accordingly. This article takes a closer look at this issue, citing data from a dissertation by E. Kim entitled, HOT Lanes: A Comparative Evaluation of Costs, Benefits, and Performance.