I live in Los Angeles, and we have some of the worst traffic in the country. I’ve seen that one reason for carpool lanes is to help traffic congestion, but I don’t understand since it seems traffic could be a lot better if we could all use every lane.
Why do we still use carpool lanes? Wouldn’t it drastically help our traffic to open all lanes?
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This is made as an incentive to people who carpool. So they can get faster to where they need to be, which motivates them to carpool.
If all people carpooled, then you would reduce the number of cars on roads by 50% or more.
No traffic jams, yay!
This is made as an incentive to people who carpool. So they can get faster to where they need to be, which motivates them to carpool.
If all people carpooled, then you would reduce the number of cars on roads by 50% or more.
No traffic jams, yay!
It doesn’t help with traffic. It helps getting more people to where they are going. Every car that cruises through in the carpool lane has 2-4 times as many people in it as the cars in other lanes.
It doesn’t help with traffic. It helps getting more people to where they are going. Every car that cruises through in the carpool lane has 2-4 times as many people in it as the cars in other lanes.
This is a pretty good video explaining traffic and carpool lanes: https://youtu.be/SUxUtl7mcFc
This is a pretty good video explaining traffic and carpool lanes: https://youtu.be/SUxUtl7mcFc
In order for the carpool lane to be effective at encouraging multiple people to pile in one car, reducing congestion, pollution, etc, people have to go out of their way and make a decision to pile in one car, for the express purpose of being able to use a carpool lane. And I don’t think that happens as much as some well-meaning people think it does.
In other words, there has to be multiple people who WERE PLANNING TO drive separate cars to the same area, and then DECIDED AFTERWARDS to all go in one car, just to do the carpool lane. The carpool lane would get credit for actually changing something in this case.
But, if 4 people were, for example, all going to go a restaurant together anyway, then they cannot be counted as changing their driving behavior because of the carpool lane. They were going to ride together anyway, the carpool lane meant nothing. Then you have many people driving to work everyday, and they are the only person they know who 1) lives near them, 2) works near them, and 3) wants to carpool with them, which may be pretty rare, so all those people drive alone.
The carpool lane cannot be credited for getting these people to reduce traffic in these situations, even if they use the carpool lane. They didn’t change their behavior, congestion was not affected, and pollution is the same.
I would argue that the number of people who actually change their driving habits and get multiple people in one car for the express purpose of using the carpool lane is probably not very high.
In order for the carpool lane to be effective at encouraging multiple people to pile in one car, reducing congestion, pollution, etc, people have to go out of their way and make a decision to pile in one car, for the express purpose of being able to use a carpool lane. And I don’t think that happens as much as some well-meaning people think it does.
In other words, there has to be multiple people who WERE PLANNING TO drive separate cars to the same area, and then DECIDED AFTERWARDS to all go in one car, just to do the carpool lane. The carpool lane would get credit for actually changing something in this case.
But, if 4 people were, for example, all going to go a restaurant together anyway, then they cannot be counted as changing their driving behavior because of the carpool lane. They were going to ride together anyway, the carpool lane meant nothing. Then you have many people driving to work everyday, and they are the only person they know who 1) lives near them, 2) works near them, and 3) wants to carpool with them, which may be pretty rare, so all those people drive alone.
The carpool lane cannot be credited for getting these people to reduce traffic in these situations, even if they use the carpool lane. They didn’t change their behavior, congestion was not affected, and pollution is the same.
I would argue that the number of people who actually change their driving habits and get multiple people in one car for the express purpose of using the carpool lane is probably not very high.
I studied this for a paper years ago. The numbers I saw for LA in the 80s there were 1.2 persons per vehicle. If that number went up to 1.4 there would be no congestion. Yes that would mean 17% fewer cars.
If traffic is flowing at 60mph with 1 second between each car 3,600 cars per hour can travel per lane. That is fine until someone wants to change lanes, haha. If your carpool lane requires 3 people per car 1,200 cars will carry as many people. Or if there are 10 buses in that hour even more can travel in that lane.
Traffic monitors have a number of cars per lane they expect for free flowing traffic, once they get beyond that they know things will slow down. How many times have you had to come to a dead stop on the freeway, only to see no evidence of a problem when you finally get back to speed? That is due to PMS. Poor Merging Syndrome.
I studied this for a paper years ago. The numbers I saw for LA in the 80s there were 1.2 persons per vehicle. If that number went up to 1.4 there would be no congestion. Yes that would mean 17% fewer cars.
If traffic is flowing at 60mph with 1 second between each car 3,600 cars per hour can travel per lane. That is fine until someone wants to change lanes, haha. If your carpool lane requires 3 people per car 1,200 cars will carry as many people. Or if there are 10 buses in that hour even more can travel in that lane.
Traffic monitors have a number of cars per lane they expect for free flowing traffic, once they get beyond that they know things will slow down. How many times have you had to come to a dead stop on the freeway, only to see no evidence of a problem when you finally get back to speed? That is due to PMS. Poor Merging Syndrome.
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