How congested are carpool lanes?

Well, The Times' Rong-Gong Lin II has the answer:

A Caltrans study found that during the evening rush hour nearly one-third of carpool-lane miles do not meet federal minimum standards, which require that the lanes flow at speeds of 45 mph or faster at rush hour. The speeds are far lower on some major Southern California routes, including portions of the 405 Freeway from the South Bay through Orange County as well as the 5 and 210 freeways. Local officials say the 91 Freeway carpool lanes connecting Orange County and the Inland Empire can slow to 10 mph during rush hour, with portions of the 55 and 57 freeways doing even worse.

Do you think Caltrans' idea of raising fines for solo drivers in hopes of reducing carpool lane congestion is a good idea? Vote here at this Times poll.

Comments

[TrafficBulldog]

Oh my Gosh!

You have to let the hybrids use the carpool lanes....

Or they won't be as efficient as regular small cars.

Who cares if hybrids are clogging the lanes and slowing the rest of the people that are actually carpooling and getting much higher people per mile per gallon ratings.

But then the Hybrid rules where written to help the state sell cars at a time of budget shortfalls. 85,000 hybrids is about $240 million in sales taxes alone. Then the registration fees, and ......

Nobody sells cars as well as California Politicians...

Selling cars gives them an easy out from sovling the problems of today any time soon....

http://trafficbulldog.org is a commuter based advocacy group in Los Angeles. Please join the conversation.

[Paul]

It's not illegal solo drivers clogging it up, it's the legal ones driving hybrids. Politicians and city officials need to understand that the carpool lane isn't about saving the environment, it's about clearing up traffic.

[J. Kleyh]

I think that the carpool lane should be limited for use by single non-commercial vehicles. I use the 5 south/north regularly, and am amazed at all the commercial trucks, contractor vehicles and even bot hauling pickups using the lanes. They are always moving at a slower pace, cannot accelerate as quickly as a passenger car, and what about the 55 mph limit for autos pulling trailers? I think that solo passenger hybrids should be allowed to use the lanes.