Higher fines sought for carpool abuses

Caltrans said it will push to increase the fine for driving solo in carpool lanes as part of an effort to reduce congestion in the lanes.

California is under pressure from federal transportation authorities to do something to improve traffic flow on the lanes or risk losing federal funding.

A Caltrans study found that during the evening rush hour nearly one-third of carpool-lane miles do not meet federal minimum standards, which require that the lanes flow at speeds of 45 mph or faster at rush hour.

The speeds are far lower on some major Southern California routes, including portions of the 405 Freeway from the South Bay through Orange County as well as the 5 and 210 freeways. Local officials say the 91 Freeway carpool lanes connecting Orange County and the Inland Empire can slow to 10 mph during rush hour, with portions of the 55 and 57 freeways doing even worse.

The findings come amid a growing concern among transportation officials and motorists that the state’s 1,350 miles of carpool lanes are losing their effectiveness as a tool to encourage ride-sharing.

Caltrans officials have not said how much they would like to raise carpool lane violation fines. Right now, the fine is a minimum of $341 plus court charges, which can bring the total to nearly $500.

Officials said they had no plans to kick solo hybrid car drivers off the carpool lanes.

“Hybrid vehicles will continue to be allowed to operate on the HOV lane system,” said Director Will Kempton. “Only when no other steps work to reduce congestion, it may be necessary to prohibit single-occupant hybrid vehicles from extremely congested HOV segments.”

ron.lin@latimes.com