Motorcycles in HOV lanes - Petition and Protest! | Page 7 | GTAMotorcycle.com

Motorcycles in HOV lanes - Petition and Protest!

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caboose483 said:
How much extra per year do you pay for insurance and maintenance on your FZ that is over and above the ownership costs of a little econobox car?
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Just a follow up, i got a quote for insurance on an cheap beater 2001 Civic.

I would pay $100.00 a year more on the Civic than the FZ1. Year round fuel estimates have the Civic at 7l per 100km, the bike is 5.2l per 100kms. Weekly commute is around 700 kms.

In my case Maintenance is really a wash, mostly D.I.Y. The Civic even though it's a fairly bullet proof car, it would need more repairs than the Yamaha for sure over the long run.

Still riding today, long term forecast still looks ok. So maybe i might be looking at GO transit for Jan and Feb and a few days in between.
 
insert said:
To win the space argument you need to show that where 8 cars can transport 40 people, the 40 bikes each with 2s headway will take up less space.
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Huh? What argument has this become now? I thought HOV lanes were meant to improve congestion in real, present-day traffic, not to improve on some pie-in-the-sky dreamland situation where every seat is occupied.
 
Jayv said:
Just a follow up, i got a quote for insurance on an cheap beater 2001 Civic.

I would pay $100.00 a year more on the Civic than the FZ1. Year round fuel estimates have the Civic at 7l per 100km, the bike is 5.2l per 100kms. Weekly commute is around 700 kms.

In my case Maintenance is really a wash, mostly D.I.Y. The Civic even though it's a fairly bullet proof car, it would need more repairs than the Yamaha for sure over the long run.

Still riding today, long term forecast still looks ok. So maybe i might be looking at GO transit for Jan and Feb and a few days in between.
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fastar1 said:
Huh? What argument has this become now? I thought HOV lanes were meant to improve congestion in real, present-day traffic, not to improve on some pie-in-the-sky dreamland situation where every seat is occupied.
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Meh, there seems to be an argument that city parking is the reason motorcycles should use highway HOV lanes.

because motorcycles would save space on parking. i am just saying that pound for pound. motorcycles are a less efficient use of space.
 
I agree that single occupant motorcycles should be able to use the HOV lanes on Province of Ontario highways just like they are able to use the HOV lanes on City of Toronto roadways and so I have signed the petition.
 
HOV lanes are a waste of taxpayer dollars. It may sound like a good idea, but the simple fact is that we all simply can't carpool. I live in Oakville and work at Sheppard / Allen. Nobody in my office lives close to me and public transit, while possible, would be a nightmare. It is my opinion that the bulk of commuters would just like to get where they are going in as little time as possible. Sitting in grid-lock twice a day while we see the occasional car going by in the HOV lane only ticks us off more. The lane is there to ease congestion, let us all use it and we'll be much happier and productive. And since we won't be idling for as long, our planet will be happier as well. As for the safety issue, agreed, having traffic try to kill us from one side is much better than from all sides. Ever tried getting out of the HOV lane though? Usually there are three lanes of traffic bumper to bumper to contend with as you try to cross them all to get to your off-ramp. This is why people cross the double lines to get in and out of the lanes as they are looking for the break in traffic to do so, yet this is deemed an illegal lane change. HOV lanes just aren't efficient, get rid of them. Problem solved, that is all.
 
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Airgar said:
HOV lanes are a waste of taxpayer dollars. It may sound like a good idea, but the simple fact is that we all simply can't carpool.
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You have it backwards. If everyone COULD carpool then HOV lanes would make no sense. Since only a few can, this gives them the incentive to do so thereby reducing overall congestion. That means everyone benefits from a shorter commute, even you.
 
Airgar said:
HOV lanes are a waste of taxpayer dollars. It may sound like a good idea, but the simple fact is that we all simply can't carpool. I live in Oakville and work at Sheppard / Allen. Nobody in my office lives close to me and public transit, while possible, would be a nightmare. It is my opinion that the bulk of commuters would just like to get where they are going in as little time as possible. Sitting in grid-lock twice a day while we see the occasional car going by in the HOV lane only ticks us off more. The lane is there to ease congestion, let us all use it and we'll be much happier and productive. And since we won't be idling for as long, our planet will be happier as well. Problem solved, that is all.
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While I've been researching I found that one of the issues is the perception that the HOV lanes are underutilized, and that can have a very negative effect on public acceptance. One of the points made in that paper was that even when the HOV lanes are moving more people per hour than the adjacent lanes, it doesn't appear that way. I think they can still work though, with the right balance. Let enough vehicles use them so that we strike the balance between easing congestion and simply moving congestion. That's why I think the trial period for empty commercial passenger vehicles should continue, as for hybrids/green vehicles, and motorcycles should be allowed for a couple of additional reasons. It's easy to determine these classes of vehicles and it doesn't represent a huge shift all at once because of the number of them on the road It's also easily enforceable.
 
fastar1 said:
You have it backwards. If everyone COULD carpool then HOV lanes would make no sense. Since only a few can, this gives them the incentive to do so thereby reducing overall congestion. That means everyone benefits from a shorter commute, even you.
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I think he's saying that; yes, there is incentive, but incentive without reasonable possibility is pointless.

It's not doing enough to reduce congestion, because our "urban sprawl" is so very spaced out, carpooling opportunities are few and far between.
 
MarkR said:
I'm sure there'll be a website later as this progresses, but for now, it's just me getting the wheels rolling and it's got to start somewhere!
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Hey Mark,

If all that you eventually need is a static page, then I'm sure that I could set it up on my server. It's just a little personal rig, but should be more than capable of serving a simple information page. That, or I could just post up news on the issue to my own page.
 
Next time you are crawling along at 10km/h, watch the HOV lane. The one car every 45 seconds does not justify the hundreds of us trapped in grid-lock. How is it not better for us all to be doing 80 than for some to do 100 and the rest of us to be doing 10. This City has a real problem moving the people, goods and services etc. to their destinations in, around and through the City and outlying areas. Our Government has used our tax dollars to build the extra lane, but has regulated who can use it. I get it that we need to incent people to car pool, take public transportation etc. but it is not always a viable option. If I could hitch a ride with someone else, I would, regardless of the HOV. As for the green movement, moving cars are cleaner than idling ones so let us get on our way. For the record, if I worked Downtown, I would take the GO Train, but I would ride to the station. Don't mean to stand on my soapbox, but there has to be a better way (no pun intended TTC).
 
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Airgar said:
Next time you are crawling along at 10km/h, watch the HOV lane. The one car every 45 seconds does not justify the hundreds of us trapped in grid-lock. How is it not better for us all to be doing 80 than for some to do 100 and the rest of us to be doing 10.
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Right. So allow more vehicles in. Allowing everyone won't solve the problem, it will spread out the congestion. If there is no incentive whatsoever to carpool, everyone will drive on their own. If we get the right balance with effective use of the HOV lanes, it can work.
One of the problems with our system is that we have the limited access lanes, and maybe not enough vehicles in the HOV lanes. That means the speed differential you describe makes it more difficult to get in and out of them. Or because of the crawling traffic in the regular lanes, drivers in the HOV lanes are more cautious and slow down. We need a balance where the HOV lanes move more smoothly and more consistently - so that the average speed over a trip is faster, and people that use the lanes can count on it. I think there's room for more in the HOV lanes.
 
We will never get to that balance if the disparity remains. I can't see how we get there from here. I can move more liquid with a bigger diameter hose, so spreading out the congestion means that the congestion isn't as dense. Look, we can argue this all day from 50 different angles and that's ok. All I'm saying is that today it's busted, there has to be a more palatable solution, one that works for everyone, not just the few. I don't profess to know the numbers but if it's 10 percent, that's simply not good enough. As for more HOV lanes, where would you put them? Land is the issue here. Anyway, starting to get too far off topic, petition signed
 
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Airgar said:
Next time you are crawling along at 10km/h, watch the HOV lane. The one car every 45 seconds does not justify the hundreds of us trapped in grid-lock. How is it not better for us all to be doing 80 than for some to do 100 and the rest of us to be doing 10. .
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If traffic is flowing at 10 km/h and I'm able to go 80 in the HOV, I wouldn't feel safe in that situation. I've seen too many people darting in and out of the HOV lanes.
 
Airgar said:
Land is the issue here. Anyway, starting to get too far off topic, petition signed
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Well there's no more land in production, so we have to make the best use of what we have!
 
PSY said:
My suggestion. You get a rolling convoy of bikes during rush hour am/pm and take over the roads but do NOT ride in the HOV lanes. Everyone proceed at 99km/h on the hwy.
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I wish the traffic would even get up to 99 km/h during any rush hour. LOL
 
Airgar said:
Next time you are crawling along at 10km/h, watch the HOV lane. The one car every 45 seconds does not justify the hundreds of us trapped in grid-lock. How is it not better for us all to be doing 80 than for some to do 100 and the rest of us to be doing 10. This City has a real problem moving the people, goods and services etc. to their destinations in, around and through the City and outlying areas. Our Government has used our tax dollars to build the extra lane, but has regulated who can use it. I get it that we need to incent people to car pool, take public transportation etc. but it is not always a viable option. If I could hitch a ride with someone else, I would, regardless of the HOV. As for the green movement, moving cars are cleaner than idling ones so let us get on our way. For the record, if I worked Downtown, I would take the GO Train, but I would ride to the station. Don't mean to stand on my soapbox, but there has to be a better way (no pun intended TTC).
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This is definitely not the case everywhere, the 403 from hamilton during rush hour (morning or evening) is packed in the direction of traffic.

the lane is almost bumper to bumper and the cars are doing a steady 70km/h compared to the dead stop-10km/h of the regular lanes... so they work damn well there.
 
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