With solo drivers kicked out of California carpool lanes, how bad will traffic get for rest of us?

"As of Aug. 14, more than half a million motorists statewide had an active decal on their vehicle to access carpool lanes. California has an estimated 1,171 carpool lane-miles, with 803 miles in Southern California and 366 miles in Northern California, according to a UC Berkeley study. With more than 35 million total registered vehicles in California, that means 1% to 2% of the vehicle fleet will lose access to the carpool lane, said Antonio Bento, professor of public policy and economics at USC."

"Clean-air vehicle drivers could change their driving habits and start their commutes earlier to avoid the peak congestion hours. In the most hopeful and optimistic scenario, some motorists who enjoyed the carpool perk might even ditch the freeway altogether and choose another method of transportation, such as the Los Angeles County Metro rail system. But they would have to be pretty committed to clean air to do that."

New rules remove solo clean-air vehicles from California carpool lanes, creating uncertainty about effects on commute times and traffic. More than half a million motorists held active decals to access carpool lanes as of Aug. 14. California has about 1,171 carpool lane-miles, with 803 in Southern California and 366 in Northern California. With over 35 million registered vehicles, roughly 1% to 2% of the fleet will lose carpool-lane access. Predicting commuter behavior remains difficult; on highly congested freeways added vehicles may have little impact on overall traffic. Affected clean-air vehicle owners may alter departure times, join regular lanes, or switch to transit options such as LA Metro rail.

Read at Los Angeles Times