![]() ![]() ![]() SPUR cites data from the area’s Metropolitan Transportation Committee (MTC) showing that there are many HOV lane violators, an average of 19% of HOV traffic in the morning peak and 25% in the afternoon peak, and up to 39% on some segments. Why is this? Part of the problem is that we have more EVs now, which are allowed in the HOV lanes. HOV lanes (in blue) throughout the Bay Area, plus a few (tolled) express lanes (in green), as of 2017. In many cases, HOV lanes routinely slow to a near standstill during peak hours.” According to the new SPUR report Freeways of the Future, based on pre-pandemic data, “Of the region’s roughly 450 miles of HOV lanes, more than 50% are ‘very degraded,’ meaning that the average speed is below 45 mph for more than half of the operating hours. Unfortunately, HOV lanes have been slowing down. When they move faster than other lanes they reward people in buses and carpools. (1) So we rolled out HOV lanes (“High Occupancy Vehicle” lanes) to encourage carpooling and transit. We know that adding lanes leads to more people driving, an effect called “induced demand”. So it’s time to think again about how to reduce the number of vehicles we have on our roads. I would guess most will be at pre-pandemic levels by fall. With the pandemic beginning to fade and businesses opening up, our highways are getting busy once again. SamTrans ridership has been decreasing for years. The pandemic has kept us off of the roads - a plus! - but also off of transit - a minus! Telecommuting will stick around to some degree, but transit was on a downward trend even before the pandemic. Source: Metropolitan Transportation Commission San Mateo County looks similar, but with slightly more transit. The percentage of people in Santa Clara County that commute to work in a single-occupancy vehicle (light orange) hasn’t changed much since 1980 (pre-pandemic). Both San Mateo and Santa Clara counties have had 65%–75% single-occupancy commuters over the last forty years, with little change. We have not been very successful at reducing the number of single-occupancy vehicles. That raises the question: Should it cost more to drive? Transportation is the largest source of emissions in our area and in the state overall, so our pricing should encourage emissions-reducing behavior. In that same vein, transportation rates are also climate policy. We need to design our rates to encourage behavior that will reduce emissions (i.e., electrification). The Chair of the California Energy Commission, David Hochschild, recently observed that “electricity rates are climate policy”. I love spending time outdoors, and feel deeply our responsibility to this incredible planet that we call home. After working in the tech industry for about 25 years, I retired a few years ago to better align my time with my priorities. I studied math and neurobiology on the east coast before moving out here in 1987 for grad school in computer science. My background is not in climate science, and I'm not even particularly green my hope is that helps to make this blog more relatable. It is important that we develop a shared understanding of the basic science and impacts of climate change, to make sense of our actions and policy options going forward. My hope is that readers of this blog will develop a better understanding of how our climate is evolving and how they want to respond, and will feel comfortable asking questions and exchanging comments on the topic. 5, and follow the same schedule and pricing procedures as weekday operations, METRO Board Chair Sanjay Ramabhadran said.About this blog: Climate change, despite its outsized impact on the planet, is still an abstract concept to many of us. Under the pilot plan, the lanes will be open on Saturdays and Sundays from July 2 through Labor Day, Sept. Single-occupant vehicles must pay a toll ranging from $1-$7 to use the lanes but are not allowed on during peak commuting hours. 290-can use the lanes for free, according to METRO's website. Vehicles with two or more occupants-and three or more during peak traffic hours on Hwy. The reversible lanes allow travel inbound from 5-11 a.m. METRO’s HOV and HOT lanes allow vehicles with two or more passengers as well as motorcycles to bypass traffic during peak travel hours through a separate lane. 290, according to agenda documents from METRO’s Public Safety, Customer Service & Operations Committee meeting June 16. The plan focuses on five HOV and high-occupancy toll lanes along I-45 North, I-45 South, I-69 North/Hwy. METRO’s board of directors approved the pilot program at its June 23 meeting. This summer, Houston drivers will be able to ride select high-occupancy vehicle lanes on the weekends as part of a Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County pilot program. ![]()
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