🚀 go-pugleaf

I'm not one to get involved in dc.flame-wars, but you seem to be missing a
very simple option:  

Walt Horning <whorning@pipeline.com> wrote:

: - If regular lanes are under-utilized, the "coercion factor"
:   disappears and those who discover that car pooling adds 10-40
:   minutes a day to their commute (waiting at the rendezvous locations)
:   will often opt for being a single driver and the gas savings from
:   the HOV lane is never realized.

: - If regular lanes are over-utilized and HOV lanes under-utilized and
:   there simply is not enough people who can carpool, the gas saving
:   from HOV lanes and carpools is likely to not be realized,
:   especially when huge stop-and-go backups in the regular lanes exist,
:   as gas is also wasted this way in huge quantities.

Your problem is right here.  The typical scenario in which you achieve
some sort balance between regular and HOV lanes are when the regular lanes
are over-utilized and the HOV under-utilized.  Then, people decide they
are tired of waiting in regular-lane back ups and start HOVing.  But you
don't list this option because you automatically rule it out by saying
"and there simply is not enough people who can carpool."  So change this
scenario you give above to say "and there are enough people who can
carpool" and bang! you've got optimum utitlization.

Maria


: - If both regular lanes and HOV lanes are over-utilized and backups
:   occur, then the "coercion factor" will also disappear as people find
:   that car pooling is giving them no advantage, and that the added
:   time waiting at rendezvous locations is just not worth it, and
:   furthermore, governments who simply opted for one HOV lane
:   and no additional regular lanes have flubbed it.

: It seems highly improbable that HOV lanes can be successful more than
: rarely, based on the above criteria.