FREEWAY LANES FOR HIGH-OCCUPANCY VEHICLES

CALIFORNIA HAS PROVIDED MORE PREFERENTIAL FREEWAY FACILITIES FOR BUSES AND CAR POOLS THAN ANY OTHER STATE. THE FOLLOWING PROJECTS HAVE BEEN IMPLEMENTED: 1. AN EXCLUSIVE FOUR-MILE CONTRA-FLOW BUS LANE NORTH OF THE GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE IN MARIN COUNTY. THIS CONTRA-FLOW LANE PROVIDED CONSIDERABLE BENEFITS IN TERMS OF REDUCED PERSON-DELAY. HOWEVER, A STUDY SHOWED THAT ITS EFFECT ON BUS PATRONAGE WAS NOT SIGNIFICANT. ON THE OTHER HAND, GREATLY IMPROVED TRANSIT EQUIPMENT, AUGMENTED ROUTES, AND IMPROVED SCHEDULES HAVE INCREASED BUS PATRONAGE MORE THAN 50 PERCENT IN THIS CORRIDOR. 2. EXCLUSIVE BUS AND CAR POOL LANES THROUGH THE CONGESTED TOLL PLAZA AREA OF THE SAN FRANCISCO OAKLAND BAY BRIDGE HAVE BEEN IN OPERATION SINCE DECEMBER 8, 1971. CAR POOLS MAY USE AT $1.00 PER MONTH PASS RATHER THAN PAY THE $0.50 PER DAY TOLL. THERE IS NO EVIDENCE THAT THIS PREFERENTIAL TREATMENT SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED BUS PATRONAGE. BY CONTRAST, THE NUMBER OF CAR POOLS IMMEDIATELY DOUBLED. AN EXCLUSIVE BUS LANE WAS ALSO PROVIDED ON THE BAY BRIDGE DURING 1962. BUSES SAVED UP TO NINE MINUTES, AND THERE WERE CONSIDERABLE BENEFITS IN TERMS OF REDUCED DELAY. HOWEVER, A STUDY AT THAT TIME FOUND THAT THIS EXCLUSIVE LANE DID NOT SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASE BUS PATRONAGE. 3. CONSTRUCTION OF AN ELEVEN-MILE BUSWAY ALONG THE SAN BERNARDINO FREEWAY BETWEEN CENTRAL LOS ANGELES AND EL MONTE IS PARTIALLY COMPLETED. SEVEN MILES OF EXCLUSIVE LANE IN EACH DIRECTION HAVE BEEN USED BY BUSES SINCE JANUARY 29, 1973. BUS PATRONAGE HAS INCREASED. HOWEVER, SINCE GREATLY IMPROVED TRANSIT SERVICE IS ONE ASPECT OF THIS EXPERIMENT, THE EFFECT OF THE EXCLUSIVE LANE ON PATRONAGE IS NOT KNOWN. A COOPERATIVE STUDY IS BEING CONDUCTED TO FULLY EVALUATE THIS MULTI-MODAL TRANSPORTATION PROJECT. 4. PREFERENTIAL FREEWAY ON-RAMP LANES FOR BUSES HAVE BEEN INSTALLED IN CONJUNCTION WITH SOME RAMP METERING PROJECTS. IN ADDITION, EXPERIMENTAL CAR POOL BYPASSES HAVE BEEN PROVIDED AT ONE ON-RAMP NEAR LOS ANGELES AND ONE ON-RAMP IN SAN DIEGO. AT BOTH SITES, THE NUMBER OF CAR POOLS IMMEDIATELY DOUBLED. DETAILED DESCRIPTIONS OF THESE PREFERENTIAL TREATMENT PROJECTS ARE GIVEN. IN ADDITION TO THESE PROJECTS, A RESEARCH STUDY HAS BEEN COMPLETED TO INVESTIGATE POSSIBLE METHODS FOR INCREASING THE USE OF CAR POOLS. THE FOLLOWING RANKING OF CAR POOL MOTIVATION TECHNIQUES WAS FOUND: 1. VERY PROMISING TECHNIQUES; CAR POOL MATCHING SERVICES, PARK-RIDE LOTS. 2. MODERATELY PROMISING TECHNIQUES: PREFERENTIAL PARKING, GRADUATE PARKING FEES, COMPANY CAR POOLING. 3. LESS PROMISING TECHNIQUES: RESERVED FREEWAY LANES, GASOLINE TAX REBATES. SUGGESTED DIRECTIONS FOR FUTURE WORK ARE DISCUSSED. IT IS CONCLUDED THAT, WHEN PROPERLY IMPLEMENTED, BYPASS LANES FOR BUSES AND CAR POOLS CAN CONSIDERABLY REDUCE OVERALL PERSON-DELAY. CAR POOL BYPASS LANES CAN ALSO GREATLY INCREASE THE USE OF CAR POOLS. EXPERIENCE WITH EXCLUSIVE LANE PROJECTS TOGETHER WITH ANALYTICAL STUDY INDICATES THAT EMPHASIS SHOULD BE PUT ON CONTRA-FLOW BUS LANES, PREFERENTIAL ENTRY AT METERED RAMPS, EXCLUSIVE LANES UPSTREAM OF BOTTLE NECKS, AND SPECIAL FACILITIES SUCH AS BUSWAYS WHERE JUSTIFIED. CONTINUOUS EXCLUSIVE LANES TAKEN AWAY FROM OTHER TRAFFIC THROUGH BOTTLENECK AREAS ARE NOT JUSTIFIED.

• Corporate Authors:

  Calif Business & Transportation Agency

  ,    
• Publication Date: 1973-12

Media Info

• Features: Figures; Photos; Tables;
• Pagination: 85 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Bus lanes; Bus priority; Bus transportation; Carpools; Energy resources; Public transit; Ridership; Time; Toll facilities; Tolls; Traffic congestion; Traffic control devices; Traffic delays; Traffic lanes; Transportation planning
• Uncontrolled Terms: Energy crisis
• Old TRIS Terms: Time factor; Toll areas
• Subject Areas: Energy; Highways; Motor Carriers; Operations and Traffic Management; Public Transportation; Terminals and Facilities;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00226854
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: Annual Rpt
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Jun 5 1982 12:00AM