A New Approach to HOV Entry Requirements: MassHighway’s 3+ /Limited 2+ Sticker Program

Abstract

The Massachusetts Highway Department opened the I-93 Southeast Expressway high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lane in November 1995, under a three-person, or 3+, entry requirement. A 2+ rule was not implemented because studies indicated that the high number of existing two-person carpools would overload the narrow lane, causing it to fail. While the lane was an operational success, with general public support, the agency fielded continuing complaints about underutilization. In response, the Massachusetts Legislature and MassHighway designed a program to allow a limited number of two-person vehicles into the lane. MassHighway examined the results of the sticker program on incidents, lane violation rates, and HOV volumes. The program’s impact on incidents was negligible, and the rate actually declined slightly in the months following its opening. The program had no impact on the HOV lane’s already low violation rate, which was due to its barrier-protected, limited-acces design. HOV volumes rose 29 percent on average following the opening of the sticker program. Suprisingly, given the high demand for stickers, relatively few recipients use the lane on a regular basis. A MassHighway survey of sticker recipients revealed some of the reasons for this phenomenon and confirmed several operational aspects about the HOV lane in general. The sticker program represents a new solution to an old problem among HOV practioners—how to balance the need for a congestion-free facility, while meeting the need for public acceptance and perception of adequate utilization. The sticker program went a long way toward diffusing public criticism of the HOV lane, while keeping vehicle volumes to a manageable level. The Southeast Expressway HOV sticker program represents one alternative for successfully metering 2+demand.