Ride-Sharing Increase Is Cause for Optimism

We hesitate to jump to conclusions, but two stories published in the past several days seem to explode the myth that no matter how bad traffic conditions may get in Orange County, motorists simply cannot be pried out of their their cars and away from their solo driving habits.

On Wednesday Caltrans disclosed that the car-pool lanes on the Costa Mesa Freeway are the busiest in the state. The 12-mile lanes on each side of the freeway between the Riverside and San Diego freeways now each carry about 22,000 people a day. And, according to state Department of Transportation expectations, the car-pool lanes still under construction along the San Diego Freeway are a good bet to take over the top spot and carry even more commuters when they are fully opened next spring.

Earlier in the week the Orange County Transit District issued its annual report which showed bus ridership increasing more than 14% in the last fiscal year. For the first time in the district’s 19-year history it exceeded 40 million passenger trips for the year.

Even more impressive than the growth of bus ridership, however, was the growing interest in car-pooling and reported rise in ride sharing. The district’s Commuter Network operation processed nearly 200,000 requests by commuters for lists of potential car-pool companions who may live and work near them, an increase of 93% over the previous fiscal year. And the 10,626 people actually placed in car pools was 48% more than the previous year.

There is still a lot of one-person, one-car commuting going on, and there probably always will be. For many commuters, car-pooling simply will not fit into a work schedule. And not even its most avid supporters expect a mass switch to sharing rides. But a mass change is not necessary to make the car-pool approach a success--and to help hold the ever-growing congestion in check. Transportation and transit officials have consistently claimed that one express lane can carry more people per hour in peak periods than four other freeway lanes combined.

According to James P. Reichert, the general manager of the transit district, the increased use of buses can be attributed to motorists’ growing dissatisfaction with highway congestion and the district’s stepped-up marketing programs. We suspect the same reasons account for the dramatic increase in car-pool inquiries and match-ups.

Another explanation could be that employers are finally beginning to realize the inescapable and expensive connection between freeway congestion and employee lateness, absenteeism and turnover. Many companies are now beginning to offer tempting incentives to help lure employees out of their one-passenger, one-car commute.

Whatever the reason, the figures released by Caltrans and the transit district indicate that more people are leaving their cars for public transit and abandoning their solo commute to join with other motorists in car pools. Faced with congested highways and a critical shortage of road funds, the indication that a growing number of motorists are exploring commuting alternatives is, indeed, long-awaited and welcome news.