Dedicated car sharing lane to open near Leeds
Wed 17 October 2007
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Work has begun on a scheme between Bradford and Leeds to create the UK's first motorway car share lane. The 1.7 mile High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lane is expected to cost around £4m and will link two busy motorways in a bid to ease congestion. Meanwhile, Liftshare - the successful web-based travel sharing initiative - has ramped up and rebranded its operations.
Studies on the Leeds/Bradford Junction, between the M62 and M606 have shown that up to 84% of vehicles using the junction currently have only one occupant. The new lane, which can be used by any car carrying two or more people, is expected to open to vehicles in spring 2008.
Transport minister Tom Harris said: "Car sharing is good for drivers and good for the environment. This trial in west Yorkshire is just one of a series of innovative and imaginative measures being used on the motorway network to tackle congestion and make the best possible use of our available road space."
The HOV lane will also be open to coaches, buses, motorcycles and any minibuses or taxis carrying passengers. Lorries will not be able to use the lane.
Car share lanes have already been used extensively in other countries, including the United States, and on a number of local authority roads in the UK.
Liftshare, the initiative which aims to encourage and enable more efficient travel by helping individuals to find travel companions and offering them a choice of more sustainable travel modes, has announced that it has upgraded its internet-based systems to provide more advanced and detailed route mapping and a multi-lingual system to provide better chances of finding travel share companions. The new MyBUDi system also provides international journey matching for people wanting to travel abroad.
In a further development, the Department for Transport (DfT) has announced it will extend an experiment to allow motorists to use the hard shoulder of motorways to ease congestion during busy times after a trial on a section of the M42 which is said to have cut travelling times, accidents and vehicle emissions. The scheme will be extended to include a part of the M6 near Birmingham and the DfT will examine if it merits further extension elsewhere.
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