Skip to main content

Studies show HOV conversion to HOT improves transit

According to a December 2015 report from American Association of State Highway and Transportation officials, converting from high occupancy vehicle (HOV) to Express Lanes (HOT) benefits transit. Across the US, transit ridership and speeds increase when HOV goes HOT. Data from major cities that converted to Express Lanes show positive results, such as Miami, where 53 per cent of passengers said tolling affected their decision to use transit. Average bus travel increased from 18 to 55 mph on the I-95 E
February 4, 2016 Read time: 2 mins
According to a December 2015 report from 4944 American Association of State Highway and Transportation officials, converting from high occupancy vehicle (HOV) to Express Lanes (HOT) benefits transit.  Across the US, transit ridership and speeds increase when HOV goes HOT.  
 
Data from major cities that converted to Express Lanes show positive results, such as Miami, where 53 per cent of passengers said tolling affected their decision to use transit. Average bus travel increased from 18 to 55 mph on the I-95 Express Lanes and average weekday ridership increased 57 per cent from 2008-2010 to August 2011, while travel time decreased from 25 to eight minutes.

In Miami, average bus travel speed increased from 18 to 55 mph and travel time decreased from 25 to 8 minutes. Average weekday passengers increased 57 per cent from 2008-2010 to August 2011.

On-time performance increased for bus rapid transit on I-110 Metro ExpressLanes in Los Angeles, while average daily peak period passengers increased by 52 per cent in the morning peak and 41 per cent in the evening peak after USDOT-funded service was added. Passengers increased again by 29 per cent in the morning peak and 25 per cent in the evening peak after tolling began.

Bus speeds in Minneapolis increased and bus travel times decreased after I-35W converted to HOT lanes.

Critically, across these cities on average, one third of new transit riders previously drove alone.

Related Content

  • February 27, 2013
    Project of the year win for TransCore Silicon Valley project
    Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority’s (VTA) State Route (SR) 237 Express Lanes, for which TransCore serves as lead integrator, received the 2012 Transportation Project of the Year Award from the San Francisco Bay Area Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE). VTA is implementing the Silicon Valley Express Lanes Program to provide congestion relief in one of its major Bay Area commuter corridors. As part of the program, the SR 237, US 101, SR 85 and parts of I-680 corridor will convert the existin
  • April 9, 2014
    Gothenburg’s year of congestion charging
    A year after it went live, Colin Sowman examines the technology used for Gothenburg’s congestion charging system and the effect the scheme has had on commuters. When it comes to long-term planning, the Scandinavians take some beating.The West Swedish Agreement is a case in point. Introduced in 2009, the Agreement runs through to around 2027 and aims to create an attractive, sustainable and growing region, and over that timescale the number of journeys is expected to increase by a third. Therefore the Agreem
  • January 17, 2020
    LA Metro seeks to attract more bus riders
    Transport authorities in Los Angeles are trying to attract more people to bus services in a bid to halt falling ridership and entice drivers out of their cars.
  • April 1, 2020
    Coronavirus cuts US congestion, says Inrix
    Coronavirus may have thrown transit systems worldwide into disarray, but new data shows the pandemic has alleviated congestion in the US.