HOV Marketing and Position Study Completed for South Florida

In July 1995, a high occupancy vehicle (HOV) lane was opened on I-95, stretching from Palm Beach County south to Dade County to help alleviate congestion caused by construction (begun in 1988) on I-95 in Dade and Broward counties. The HOV lane on I-95 is restricted for use by vehicles with two or more occupants from 7-9 am to 4-6 pm Monday through Friday.

To maximize use of the the HOV lane, Gold Coast Commuter Services, the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) District Four and Six offices, the Florida Highway Patrol, and the Federal Highway Administration developed a comprehensive HOV Marketing, Education and Enforcement Plan for the area. The plan calls for the formation of a regional HOV Policy Committee to oversee all elements of the plan implementation, which began in late 1995.

To effectively implement the plan, knowledge of area residents awareness and current attitudes towards HOV lanes was necessary to provide direction for potential marketing/education efforts to maximize use of the HOV lanes. To collect these data, CUTR was asked by the FDOT s District Four and District Six offices and Gold Coast Commuter Services to conduct a survey of area residents. A total of 1,537 residents of Palm Beach, Broward, and Dade counties who owned motor vehicles and commuted to work were surveyed in September 1995.

Among the objectives of the survey were to profile use of I-95 and carpooling by residents of Palm Beach, Broward, and Dade counties; to determine awareness and use of HOV lanes and to gauge attitudes towards them; and to develop strategies for marketing and positioning HOV lanes.

Survey findings

Survey findings included the following.

  • A total of 47 percent of residents of Palm Beach County, 41 percent of Broward County, and 35 percent of Dade County use I-95 regularly for commuting purposes. About half of commuters who do not use I-95 regularly would use the highway more often if it were not so congested.
  • Of the commuters who use I-95, about 20 percent carpool at least twice per week. Of those who carpool regularly, about half said they use the HOV lane.
  • Awareness of the availability of HOV lanes among residents is more than 85 percent for Dade and Broward counties (Palm Beach has large sections of I-95 without HOV lanes). Awareness that HOV lanes are open only at certain times of the day is also over 80 percent.
  • Residents agree strongly that traffic congestion on I-95 is bad, that many people drive illegally in HOV lanes, and that ridesharing aids in maintaining air quality. However, there is substantially less agreement on the overall effectiveness of HOV lanes in reducing traffic congestion.
  • Residents generally feel that HOV violations are not regularly ticketed and that HOV lanes would be at least somewhat more effective if violations were aggressively enforced.
  • Businesses are not positive about the benefits of HOV lanes, but neither do they oppose HOV lanes; they all agree that traffic congestion on I-95 is a problem. Businesses, as well as the public, will have to be educated on the benefits of HOV lanes.
  • Support for HOV lanes among law enforcement agencies and magistrates is decidedly mixed, but law enforcement officers and magistrates do agree on the need for consistent enforcement and improved signage.

Survey analysis

Analysis of the survey responses produced the following recommendations:

  • High levels of awareness of the benefits of HOV lane usage should be generated and maintained. Strategies include promoting the use of HOV lanes and carpooling and educating the populace about the benefits of ridesharing. The HOV Marketing, Education and Enforcement Plan includes development of many materials related to this effort, including educational videos and press materials.
  • Enforcement of HOV violations should be strengthened.
  • Services to make carpooling easier should be promoted, including ridematching services and the development of a "Commuter Register" that will allow commuters to match themselves with other potential carpoolers through a system of classified ads.
  • A steady campaign to promote advantages of HOV lanes shoud be developed.
  • Programs to increase use of HOV lanes should be targeted to the segments of the population most likely to benefit from and use them. Survey analysis revealed that the target group totaled about 11 percent of the population and included younger (35 years of age or less), lower-income, drive-alone commuters with young children.

For further information, contact CUTR Research Associate Francis Cleland, cleland@cutr.usf.edu.