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https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/27432/critical-issues-in-transportation-for-2024-and-beyond

MARYLAND'S HIGH OCCUPANCY VEHICLE (HOV) LANES: WHO IS USING THEM AND WHY?

The purpose of this study was to determine who is using the high occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes in the I-270 corridor in Maryland and why. It is important to understand the long-term trends for carpooling in order to determine the future of the HOV lanes. Understanding the characteristics of the HOV lane carpool users will provide insight into how to best create future transportation system and demand management improvements. Data were gathered for I-270 by the Maryland State Highway Administration using a license plate survey (October/early November, 1999) at three locations on I-270. Three high speed video cameras collected license plate information over five days in both the morning and evening peak period of both HOV and non-HOV users. A survey/questionnaire was distributed in November/December (1999) to a stratified random sample of 7,002 addresses, of which 6,556, or 94%, were deliverable by the post office and 1,028 responded (16% response). The I-270 survey has helped to better understand who is utilizing the I-270 corridor. Sociodemographically, it was learned that gender, education, age, and employment characteristics do not impact carpool decisions on I-270, since men and women are using the facility equally, regardless of their employer, education level or age. While federal government employees might be more inclined to carpool, this did not show enough differentiation to statistically factor into why motorists are carpooling on I-270. To understand why motorists are carpooling, the I-270 survey tried to discern the motivating factors for motorists to carpool in the HOV lanes. Similar to the national trend, both origins and destinations have spread throughout the suburbs of the I-270 corridor. Only 8% of the destinations were to Washington, DC, a metropolitan area which once was the major employment center for the region. Now jobs have followed households into the suburbs of both Maryland and Virginia. Most motorists are traveling I-270 alone (86%) more than five days per week (75%). The survey showed that both trip time and trip length did not factor into the decision to carpool, with over half of the respondents not willing to convert to a carpool regardless of any travel time savings. The last factor, income, seemed to have a small variation amongst motorists' tendency to carpool, but only by approximately 5%, not enough to show a statistical difference. In the end, the survey showed that the trip making characteristics are not altered based on trip time, trip length, travel time savings, or income. In fact, carpools along I-270, similar to the national trends, are likely being formed based on multiple worker households who have convenient destinations. The two most significant factors attributing to this trend are the spreading development densities and the complex commuting patterns driven by the need for commuters to "trip chain." The survey also helped highlight motorists motivations to carpool and attitudes toward HOV lanes.

Language

  • English

Media Info

  • Features: Appendices; Figures; Photos; References; Tables;
  • Pagination: p. 189-235
  • Monograph Title: 10TH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON HIGH-OCCUPANCY VEHICLE SYSTEMS: COMPENDIUM OF TECHNICAL PAPERS

Subject/Index Terms

Filing Info

  • Accession Number: 00928010
  • Record Type: Publication
  • Report/Paper Numbers: FHWA-OP-01-041,, EDL Document No. 13482, EDL Document No. 13482,
  • Contract Numbers: DTFH61-96-6-000048-PB-F9902
  • Files: NTL, TRIS, USDOT
  • Created Date: Jul 3 2002 12:00AM