High occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes are a method of utilising spare capacity in existing bus lanes. Only vehicles carrying two or more people, buses and two wheeled vehicles are permitted to use the lanes during the hours of operation. The ICARO (Increasing Car Occupancy) research project is described. The objectives of ICARO were to increase car occupancy by encouraging car sharing and to demonstrate the feasibility of providing a lane for shared use by buses, other high occupancy vehicles and cycles. ICARO concluded that the idea of car-pooling was generally accepted. This leaflet reviews two non-motorway HOV schemes in the UK: the Leeds county Council scheme consisting of the A647 Stanningley By-Pass and Stanningley Road HOV Lanes and 'Shareway' lanes on the A4174 Avon Ring Road to the north of Bristol in South Gloucestershire. Descriptions are given of the two schemes and the legal issues and signing for the schemes are discussed. Monitoring and evaluation of the schemes in terms of vehicle flows, vehicle occupancy, journey times, air quality, and safety are reported.
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