When you look at moving 200 people by five different modes (here), you see that 133 vehicles with 1.5 riders simply cannot travel with the same efficiency as other modes. Moving as a Single Occupancy Vehicle (SOV) is increasingly becoming less and less efficient, yet persists as the norm in transportation. Even in cities where transportation budgets allow for massive widening projects, we’re seeing that adding more lanes actually creates more traffic congestion (see Houston’s Katy Project here and more on induced demand here).
Contemporary transportation policies, such as the move from High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) 2 to HOV 3, are curbing the number of vehicles on the road by focusing on the movement of people and maximizing use of existing infrastructure. By implementing these policies, transportation demand is improved in the short-term and so is how a region will accommodate travel demand over the coming decades.
CDOT’s decision to move from HOV 2 to HOV 3 (effective January 1, 2017) is a smart change, but that does not mean it is met with wide public approval. It is a divisive move and one that leaves many who travel the corridor wondering what the fallout will be.
Those who currently travel in the US 36 Express Lanes in a carpool with three or more riders or on transit will most likely not be impacted by these changes, but others will. Carpools with two riders will need to find a third buddy to continue riding in the Express Lanes for free, while those who drive solo and in the general purpose lanes will be the most impacted by these changes (there will likely be influx of vehicles moving away from the Express Lanes, thus causing more congestion in the general purpose lanes).
As your local resource, Commuting Solutions is here to help you make a smooth transition into HOV 3. Through the end of January, we are offering US 36 commuters a $75 incentive to car/vanpool or a free RTD 10-ride ticket book to try the Flatiron Flyer. If you’re still not sure if these options are a good fit, try signing up for mywaytogo.org to see if there is a carpool match waiting for you or find your transit route with this trip planner.
Sharing a ride, taking transit, teleworking and biking to work (or even to a transit stop) are all great ways to make an impact on how our region moves people, not vehicles. We encourage you to just try one new commute for one day to see how it goes.
Colorado’s ability to maintain, let alone expand multi-modal infrastructure to meet the burgeoning population is a major issue for our state, regional and local government officials, as well as for the private sector. Stay tuned for next month’s blog post on Colorado’s current budget constraints and how creative funding mechanisms, such as toll revenue, are needed to help to fill the gap.