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Motorway Car-share Lane Gets Approval

The one-mile stretch -- which can only be used by vehicles carrying two or more people -- will open in 2007 at the junction of the M606 and M62 near Leeds in West Yorkshire.

The Department of Transport said the 2.5 million pound scheme would cut about eight minutes driving time off a journey into Leeds or Bradford, although critics argue that the time saved would be lost by picking up other passengers.

Darling said similar car pool schemes in the United States, which has 2,500 miles of such lanes, had proved effective.

"If it works in America and works in Australia then there's no reason why it can't work in this country," he told BBC TV.

"We cannot build our way out of all the problems we face. If we do something imaginative, if we can encourage people to do something different and it reduces congestion, that seems to me to be a pretty good thing to do.

Highways Agency studies have shown that during rush hour periods, 84 percent of vehicles using the M62 and M606 motorways on this stretch had only one occupant.

Darling said the police would rigorously monitor the lane to ensure the restrictions were enforced.

A second car pool lane is also to be built on the M1 between Luton and St Albans as part of work on a widening scheme, which starts on Monday. That lane is due to come into force in 2008.

The government has warned that unless action was taken to reduce congestion, there would be gridlock on some roads in the next 20-30 years.

Last year, Darling said the government planned to test a "pay-as-you-drive" scheme, where drivers would be charged up to 1.34 pounds a mile under a satellite-monitored system.

Source:MSN