WHAT ARE HIGH OCCUPANCY VEHICLE LANES?

 WHAT ARE HIGH OCCUPANCY VEHICLE LANES?

In the United States, special lanes reserved for vehicles carrying more people than just the driver are called HOV lanes—short for High-Occupancy Vehicle lanes. In plain language, these are “carpool lanes.” Some people also call them diamond lanes, because of the white diamond symbol painted on the road. Different name, same idea: move more people using fewer vehicles.

In some countries, a vehicle with two occupants—including the driver—is already considered an HOV. That might work elsewhere, but here in the Philippines, I think we should aim higher. My suggestion is four passengers, including the driver, especially on expressways. If we are serious about reducing congestion, we should not settle for token compliance.

What surprises me is that we are only talking seriously about this idea now. HOV lanes have existed for decades abroad. Their basic purpose is simple but powerful: instead of measuring success by how many cars we move, we measure how many people we move. That shift in thinking alone is already a big reform.

The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) is now studying a version of this concept for EDSA. According to MMDA data, EDSA’s designed capacity is around 300,000 vehicles a day, yet about 460,000 vehicles use it daily. That gap explains why traffic feels permanently broken. MMDA General Manager Nicolas Torre III has floated the idea of allowing very high-occupancy vehicles—those carrying 10 or more passengers—to use the EDSA busway, subject to strict guidelines. Conceptually, this is an HOV lane taken to the extreme.

I am in favor of HOV lanes, particularly on expressways. In fact, I think they should be treated as a “moving target.” During peak hours, HOV rules can be switched on. During off-peak hours, the same lane can be opened to everyone. Other countries already do this, and it makes sense. Traffic is not static, so our traffic rules should not be static either.

There are clear advantages. HOV lanes encourage carpooling and ride-sharing—which, by the way, is just carpooling by another name. They reduce the number of vehicles on the road, lower fuel consumption, and cut emissions. Fewer cars also mean less oil imports, something we should care about as an energy-importing country. For commuters, HOV lanes offer more predictable travel times, especially for buses and shared vehicles.

Why not go further and incentivize compliance? Toll discounts for HOV vehicles on expressways could make carpooling attractive, not just “virtuous.” Why not exempt HOVs from number coding schemes as well? If the goal is fewer vehicles, then rewarding those who help achieve that goal is only logical.

Of course, there are downsides. One common complaint abroad is the so-called “empty lane syndrome,” where HOV lanes look underutilized while regular lanes are clogged. Enforcement is another challenge. Counting passengers is not always easy, and some drivers will try to cheat. There is also a paradox: if too many people carpool, the HOV lane itself can become congested.

But these are management problems, not reasons to abandon the idea.

The bigger question is this: do we want to keep rewarding solo driving, or do we finally want to reward shared mobility? HOV lanes are not a magic solution, but they are a smart, proven tool. Perhaps it is time we stopped asking why traffic is getting worse—and started asking why we are not using ideas that have already worked elsewhere.

RAMON IKE V. SENERES

www.facebook.com/ike.seneres iseneres@yahoo.com senseneres.blogspot.com 09088877282/03-18-2027