Hard shoulder schemes get mixed reception
Wednesday, 27 August 2008 12:00 AM
Plans for 'high occupancy' lanes are unpopular, but using the hard shoulder to ease congestion has received surprising levels of support
A poll conducted by the AA has revealed that 58 per cent of responding members are opposed to charging solo drivers to use 'high occupancy' motorway lanes.
The proposed schemes will involve using the hard shoulder on motorways as a running lane, but the government is also considering charging solo drivers for using proposed 'high occupancy' lanes.
The basic idea has received a the support of AA members, according to the poll of more than 12,000 people.
The government's plans announced in July, under the banner of "Roads - Delivering Choice and Reliability", proposed making much more use of 'hard shoulder running' schemes on English motorways.
These schemes control traffic on the motorway using frequent gantries which regulate speed and lane use and at busy times the hard shoulder converts into a traffic lane.
AA president, Edmund King, said: "It is quite controversial to improve motorway capacity by removing the hard shoulder which is widely regarded as a major safety feature that contributes to Britain's good safety record on motorways.
"However, the active traffic management pilot on the M42 east of Birmingham has shown that schemes like this can dramatically improve traffic flow, journey time reliability and retain safety levels.
"The scheme has also received strong local support with 65 per cent of the AA Populus panel members in the West Midlands supporting the scheme and only 22 per cent opposed.
"It is crucial that if these schemes are rolled out more widely they retain all the safety features employed on M42."
The government also suggested the introduction of pay lanes on motorways, either as new lanes or high occupancy ones where solo drivers would be charged for using them.
These plans were less popular with AA members, with 53 per cent opposing them. 58 per cent opposed paying a toll to use a car share lane when alone.
"The government will need to tread carefully on its future motorway policy as our research shows that people want improvements but not at additional cost," Mr King added.
"Only a few weeks ago drivers were paying the highest price ever for petrol and diesel and fuel duty and road tax increases are still in the government's mind."
