Austin HOV System Map

New! Check the ABC's of HOV for a great article on HOV in Texas.
Another Austin HOV site including links to other HOV sites. This site contains information on the Austin HOV Task Force. If you are really interested in HOV you need to check this out.
New! Austin HOV Survey Captures Corridor Viewpoints

BACKGROUND

The forecasted growth in the Austin Metropolitan Area population and related travel demand over the next 20 years, the worsening air quality situation and impending non-attainment designation for the Austin area, the shortage of transportation funds, and the desire to encourage the use of more efficient modes of transportation, dictate the need to find alternatives to traditional single occupant vehicle (SOV) travel.  The Austin Transportation Study (ATS), the local metropolitan planning organization, recognized this need and incorporated policies and plans in its transportation plan (i.e. ATS Plan, December 1994) that were consistent with this desire.  In addition to including public transportation, congestion/demand management, bicycle and pedestrian elements in the regional transportation plan, they included high occupancy vehicle (HOV) lane features in the roadway element.  In February 1997, the Texas Transportation Institute (TTI) completed the Austin HOV Study for the Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority (CMTA) and TxDOT.  They concluded that HOV lanes were warranted in Austin above and beyond what had been included in the ATS Plan.  The ATS Plan and the TTI recommended additions are shown on the HOV System Map shown below.                                            

DESCRIPTION 

HOV Lanes are travel lanes that are reserved for vehicles with, in many cases, two or more occupants (i.e. carpools, vanpools, and buses) for either a portion or all of the day.  HOV lanes are also referred to by a variety of other names, including busways, transitways, commuter lanes, and authorized vehicle lanes (AVLs).  HOV lanes can operate within several types of right-of-way (ROW), including on freeways, arterials, or on separate ROW.  ATS and the TxDOT Austin District have historically considered implementing HOV lanes within freeway corridors.  Capital Metro is studying HOV treatments as part of its transit-related Transportation Systems Management (TSM) program on arterials.  There are several operational alternatives within the freeway ROW including: concurrent flow, contra flow, reversible, and bi-directional.  There are also several design alternatives for each including striping-separated and barrier-separated.

As with other major transportation facilities, the HOV lanes are most effective when complementary features are implemented or adopted in conjunction with their development.  These features consist of physical components and policies.  The complementary physical components include parking, access/egress, transit service, rideshare program, and arterial treatments.  Policies that complement HOV development and utilization include appropriate vehicle occupancy requirements, effective time-of-day restrictions, marketing, political support, and enforcement.

LOCAL PROJECTS (Where are they being studied, designed, constructed?) 

Although no HOV lanes exist or are currently being constructed in the Austin area, the TxDOT Austin District and the Texas Turnpike Authority (TTA) Division of TxDOT have several ongoing major investment studies (MISs) and feasibility studies (e.g. IH 35 MIS, US 183 and Loop 1 Feasibility Study, US 183A MIS, SH 45/Loop 1 North MIS) that include HOV and high occupancy/toll (HOT) elements.  HOT lanes are HOV lanes that are tolled (i.e. fares are collected) at varying levels, depending on the number of occupants and the time-of-day, to fund construction and maintenance  of the roadway.  In addition to these studies, TxDOT has a policy to provide for the potential future development of HOV lanes on all of its current and future freeway projects.  This also applies to roadways that are currently not designated for HOV lane development in the ATS Plan.  These HOV accommodations are currently being made on SH 71 East, US 290 East, and US 183 East (Ed Bluestein).   Click on one of the cells directly below for MIS and feasibility study specifics.

Contact persons for the TxDOT Austin District HOV program are Diana Farrack, E.I.T. of the Austin District Advanced Project Development Office at (512) 832-7069.  Contacts for the Austin area HOT projects are David Kopp, P.E. of the Texas Turnpike Authority Division of TxDOT at (512) 936-0981.