THE IMPACT OF CARPOOL UTILIZATION ON THE KATY FREEWAY AUTHORIZED VEHICLE LANE "BEFORE" DATA. INTERIM REPORT

A major commitment has been made in the Houston area to develop median, physically separated authorized vehicle lanes. The lanes are reserved for specially authorized high-occupancy vehicles. To date, only buses and vanpools have been permitted to use the special lanes. Phase 1 of the first completed authorized vehicle lane (AVL) opened on the Katy Freeway (I-10) in October 1984. Since that is the first of many such lanes, in some respects it is being used as a laboratory to determine desirable approaches for operating the AVL facilities. To increase potential utilization, a decision was made to permit authorized 4+ carpools to begin using the AVL on a test basis in April 1985. This research study, funded jointly by the Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris Country and the Texas State Department of Highways and Public Transportation, was initiated to undertake a comprehensive analysis of the effects of permitting carpool utilization. This report documents the data collected in March 1985 before carpool utilization of the AVL was permitted. Comprehensive traffic data, both on the AVL and the freeway, were collected. In addition, surveys of transit users on the AVL, vanpool drivers on the AVL, vanpool passengers on the AVL and motorists not using the AVL were undertaken. Those data, in addition to a state-of-the-art assessment, are documented in this research report. (Author)

• Supplemental Notes:
  • Research performed in cooperation with the Federal Highway Administration. Research Study Title: An Evaluation of the Impact of Permitting Carpools to Use the Katy Transitway.
• Corporate Authors:

  Texas Transportation Institute

  Texas A&M University System, 1600 E Lamar Boulevard
  Arlington, TX  United States  76011

  Texas State Department of Highways & Public Transportation

  Transportation Planning Division, P.O. Box 5051
  Austin, TX  United States  78763

  Harris County, Texas

  Metropolitan Transit Authority, 401 Louisiana Street, P.O. Box 61429
  Houston, TX  United States  77208

  Federal Highway Administration

  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Authors:
  • Christiansen, D L
  • McCasland, W R
• Publication Date: 1985-12

Media Info

• Features: Appendices; Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 125 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Carpools; Freeways; High occupancy vehicle lanes; High occupancy vehicles; Highway traffic; Impact studies; Traffic lanes; Utilization; Vanpools
• Old TRIS Terms: Freeway traffic; Reserved lanes
• Subject Areas: Economics; Highways; Operations and Traffic Management; Planning and Forecasting; Research; Society; I73: Traffic Control;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00457722
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: FHWA-TX-86-14+484-1
• Contract Numbers: Study 2-10-85-484
• Files: TRIS, USDOT, STATEDOT
• Created Date: Aug 31 1987 12:00AM