EDITORIAL: No benefit as more get to use car pool lanes

Published online on Monday, Oct. 05, 2009

Imagine you are a California commuter who -- to save money and wear and tear on your car -- has arranged with co-workers to car pool every day.

The first year of your commute, you save a half-hour each way in the car pool lane. But a few years later, you notice the car pool lane is a little more crowded. In fact, on some days it doesn't appear to go any faster than the regular lanes next to it.

Car poolers, and there are hundreds of thousands of them across the state, have a right to be annoyed by their sluggish commutes.

In 2004, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed an ill-considered bill that allowed solo drivers of 75,000 fuel-efficient hybrids, Toyota Priuses almost exclusively, to use car pool lanes.

The Legislature later increased the number to 85,000.

In the years since, 54% of the state's car pool lanes have slipped into what state highway officials consider congested conditions, making car pool lanes less effective at easing commutes during rush hour and thus making car pooling less attractive.

Predictably, exemptions for solo drivers of hybrids set up a clamor for car pool lane access from competing carmakers that produce fuel-efficient vehicles.

The Legislature is considering a new bill to allow solo drivers of an even more fuel-efficient set of vehicles to gain access to car pool lanes when the current hybrid access bill expires at the end of 2010.

Car pool lane access also has been proposed for doctors, seniors, veterans and the disabled.

The list grows and, as it does, the purpose and effectiveness of these lanes suffer.

Any legislation that allows any category of solo driver to use the car pool lane compounds the mistake made five years ago when hybrid drivers were given access.

Federal highway officials have ordered the state to come up with a plan to unclog its car pool lanes.

There is an easy fix: Limit carpool lanes to people who've taken the time and effort to organize car pools.