Thursday 16th March 2006

Car pool digging starts next week

M1 gets wider but will anti-congestion work?

---

Anti-congestion: does it work?

Diggers move in on the M1 next week as the UK experiences its first car pool lane. But will it work?

Designed to increase the proportion of cars carrying more than one occupant and therefore reduce the numbers of cars on the road, car pool lanes have been used in the US and mainland Europe for years -- with mixed results.

A recent survey by the University of Berkeley in California suggests that car pool lanes are underused. What's more, average journey times have increased -- the researchers found that, while up to 2,200 cars per hour can travel at the speed limit without congestion, that number falls to 1,600 in the car pool lane.

So the question is whether the authorities will both monitor the new lane with sufficient rigour, and then have the nous to admit they're wrong and reverse the scheme if it doesn't work. Based on past experience, what's the betting?

• Related PH story: M1 misery starts today

[Ballistic Banana]

Going to take 32 months too how many more cars are going to be on the road by then.. obviously the fuel isnt going to run out by then as teh govermant wouldnt have invested in this

Other thing that irks me, as in many businesses...dont they do there homework if it doesnt work inmany other countries then why the hell are we throwing monay at it?

BB

[Bada Bing!]

What side of the road will the lane be on? The inside or outside? If it's the outside, and some clown decide's he's going to travel at 50mph with his pals in tow, then there is no possible way to overtake him without being prosecuted!

[dougc]

Thirty-two months of traffic nightmares round my way (I live about a mile from the end of the M10, J7 of the M1). No doubt countless miles of cones and 24 hour 40mph limits enforced by SPECS regardless of inactivity at night, on weekends. What do we gain? A fing car pool lane. Oh well thats just great, thanks morons.

Who exactly makes decisions like this? Take a look at the M1 on any given day. Nine out of 10 cars have 1 person in them. They aren't suddenly going to take another person with them every day so that they can use the car pool lane. Congestion will be just the same as it is now!

This car pool lane will become as hated as the M4 bus lane and its just as useful. Countless millions wasted on a scheme with very little benefit to the majority of road users.

And no, they won't have the nous to admit that they are wrong, they'll just do the usual. Blinkers on, listen to no-one and continue to bleat about how fantastic they are.

[themaskedavenger]

How they all laughed when I bought an inflatible lady friend now she can sit beside me as I waft along.....

might be time to buy shares in certain plastic products companies

[Code Monkey]

And yet if you drive a car with 2 seats it is already 50% full which is better than the guy in the car pool lane with only one other friend on the front seat. [assuming it seats 5 of course ;-) ]

[r988]

Code Monkey said:

And yet if you drive a car with 2 seats it is already 50% full which is better than the guy in the car pool lane with only one other friend on the front seat. [assuming it seats 5 of course ;-) ]

But then you have just bought an inefficent car then

[countryboy]

Sorry if I've missed something, but I regularly drive on the M1. Does anyone know whereabouts along the M1 this car pool lane will be?

[dougc]

M25 - Luton

[mightymouse]

themaskedavenger said:

How they all laughed when I bought an inflatible lady friend now she can sit beside me as I waft along..... might be time to buy shares in certain plastic products companies

>> Edited by mightymouse on Thursday 16th March 13:10

[davidpn]

In some countries, people queue up by the side of the road at the start of the car pool lane and get free rides from people looking to take an extra passenger so they can use the lane. That's not very British though, is it?!

[catso]

Article said:

So the question is whether the authorities will both monitor the new lane with sufficient rigour, and then have the nous to admit they're wrong and reverse the scheme if it doesn't work. Based on past experience, what's the betting?

I think you can be certain that it will be monitored & enforced with sufficient rigour (more Cameras), but I very much doubt that they would admit to any mistakes, especially if it can be made to be a revenue-raiser........

[Walter Wallpaper]

dougc said:

This car pool lane will become as hated as the M4 bus lane and its just as useful. Countless millions wasted on a scheme with very little benefit to the majority of road users. And no, they won't have the nous to admit that they are wrong, they'll just do the usual. Blinkers on, listen to no-one and continue to bleat about how fantastic they are.

Spot on.

I travelled from Heathrow to London on the M4 yesterday during peak 8am morning traffic and sat watching the empty bus/coach/taxi/bike lane. In 20 minutes I would guess I saw no more than a total of 10 coaches and 20 taxis using it and about the same number of motorbikes, which don't need it anyway.

Confining HGV's to the inside lane on both carriageways of the Luton to M25 stretch of the M1 would cost peanuts to initiate and would ease congestion far, far more than a car pool lane.

[Plotloss]

They work very well in America

But then thats because freeways are at least 4 lanes wide anyway...

[cml]

Never mind inflatable friends how about tinted windows? How they going to see who is in the back then? Ah, thermal imaging of course.

[Parrot of Doom]

How long then before we start seeing things like this on pepipoo?



www.flickr.com/photos/soundman/113329909/

[V8 Kieran]

....and call me a cynic, but those cameras whose primary objective is to police the pool lane, er, wouldn't have scameras built in by any chance?

[markmullen]

Will the cameras used to monitor the use of the lane simply look for a passenger on the left seat of the car?

If so those of us with left hookers will be fine, I don't know how Flemke in his F1 will get on though

[sybaseian]

Everyone is assuming that you have to carry a "passenger" in the front of the car.....

There's nothing to stop you having another occupant in the rear or they'd have to fine taxis and chauffeurs.

The real question is what the official definition is of an occupant? Does it even have to be human?

Sorry officer, I've got Shrodingers' cat in a box, in the boot......

[Balmoral Green]

Am I missing something? if they build an extra lane, why not let everyone use it, that will cut congestion far more than restricting the use of the new lane to certain vehicles only.

[Parrot of Doom]

I think the hope is that it would encourage more car sharing, which would reduce the traffic on the roads even further - lowering congestion across the board.

Dunno if it will work though, time will tell.