Effects of changing HOV lane occupancy requirements: El Monte busway case study

009699162002PDFResearch PaperFHWA-OP-03-001BuswaysCase studiesFreeway operationsHigh occupancy vehicle lanesOn time performanceTraffic speedTraffic volumeTravel timeVehicle occupancyHigh-OccupancyVehicle LanesHOV LanesConcurrent Flow LanesMaintenance and PreservationOperations and Traffic ManagementPublic TransportationI73: Traffic ControlCalifornia;United StatesUnited States. Joint Program Office for Intelligent Transportation SystemsTurnbull, Katherine F.Texas Transportation InstituteUnited States. Federal Highway AdministrationNTL-OPERATIONS AND TRAFFIC CONTROLS-OPERATIONS AND TRAFFIC CONTROLSNTL-HIGHWAY/ROAD TRANSPORTATION-HIGHWAY/ROAD TRANSPORTATIONNTL-OPERATIONS AND TRAFFIC CONTROLS-CongestionIntelligent Transportation Systems Joint Program OfficeIn 1999, the California Legislature passed Senate Bill 63, which lowered the vehicle-occupancy requirement on the El Monte Busway on the San Bernardino (I-10) Freeway from three persons per vehicle (3+) to two persons per vehicle (2+) full time. The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) was directed to implement this change on January 1, 2000 and to monitor and evaluate the effects of the 2+ requirement on the operation of the Busway and the freeway. Based on the operational effects that resulted from this change, emergency legislation was approved increasing the vehicle-occupancy requirement back to 3+ during the morning and afternoon peak periods effective July 24, 2000. This report summarizes information on the effect the change in the vehicle-occupancy requirement had on the operation of the Busway and freeway, public transit services, violation rates, accidents, and public response. Lowering the vehicle-occupancy requirement from 3+ to 2+ full time had a detrimental effect on the Busway. At the same time, significant improvements were not realized in the general-purpose freeway lanes. Morning peak-period travel speeds in the Busway were reduced from 65 mph to 20 mph, while travel speeds in the general-purpose lanes decreased from 25 mph to 23 mph for most of the demonstration. Hourly Busway vehicle volumes during the morning peak-period increased from 1,100 to 1,600 with the 2+ designation, but the number of persons carried declined from 5,900 to 5,200. The freeway lane vehicle volumes and passengers per lane per hour remained relatively similar. Peak-period travel times on the Busway increased by 20 to 30 minutes. Bus schedule adherence and on-time performance declined significantly and passengers reported delays