Reply #25: HOT lanes are a way of optimizing traffic... [View All]

[brooklynite]

While you don't want the lane to be as congested as normal traffic lanes, you also don't want it underutilized (setting aside the question of whether roads should be intentionally congsted to push commuters to public transportation -- which doesn't exist in many of these road markets). You can therefore make the lane available to non-carpoolers up to the maximum capacity that still allows free-flow speeds, by dynamically charging differential rates for lane access.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_HOT_and_ETL_lanes_in_the_United_States">List of HOT Lanes in the United States