Traveler Response to Transportation System Changes, Chapter 2: HOV Facilities

This chapter covers the traveler response to High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) applications, except for busways primarily on their own alignment, which are addressed in Chapter 4. HOV facilities provide preferential treatment for transit, vanpools, carpools, and other designated vehicles by providing lanes and roadways reserved for their use. HOV and bus-only lanes in separate rights-of-way, on freeways and tollways, on ramps, and on arterials and city streets are among the approaches used for giving HOV priority over general traffic. There are numerous applications and treatments found within each of these approaches, with various HOV eligibility provisions. The primary and interrelated goals of HOV facilities are to provide buses, carpools, and vanpools with travel time savings and more predictable travel times, and to consequently induce individuals to choose a higher occupancy mode over driving alone. Supporting services, facilities, and incentives are often used as further encouragement for significant numbers of individuals to change their commuting to a more cost-effective, higher occupancy travel alternative. This chapter covers the breadth of HOV facilities, inclusive of supportive features, but without examining supportive features in detail. This chapter will be of interest to transit and transportation planning practitioners; educators and researchers; and professionals across a broad spectrum of transportation and planning agencies, metropolitan planning organizations, and local, state, and federal government agencies.