news>>awards>>ite essay contest winners

Institute of Transportation Studies graduate students, Christopher Cherry and Luis Mejias, were finalists in an essay contest sponsored by the San Francisco Bay Area chapter of the Institute of Transportation Engineers. Each will receive a $500 award.

The subject of the essay was "Should solo drivers in hybrid cars be allowed in the carpool lane?"

Cherry and Mejias each made the case that the answer should be no—for a variety of reasons. Both argued that allowing solo drivers of hybrid cars into carpool (or high occupancy vehicle, HOV) lanes could degrade travel time in those lanes to such an extent that it would discourage carpooling. Cherry also pointed out that the base model Honda Civic Hybrid costs $19,000 compared to the $13,660 sticker price of a non-hybrid Civic. Allowing solo drivers in hybrids in HOV lanes "gives wealthier drivers benefits that cannot be reached by poorer drivers."

In his essay, Mejias, urged planners to examine Washington, D.C.'s experience where carpool lanes became almost as congested as general purpose lanes after solo drivers in hybrid vehicles were allowed into them. He argued that hybrids have become hugely popular, and that increasing gas prices provide plenty of incentive for drivers to switch to hybrids. Both he and Cherry suggested high occupancy toll (HOT) lanes, which permit solo drivers to pay a fee to use carpool lanes when capacity permits, would be a better incentive.

Both will receive joint Master's degrees in Civil Engineering and City and Regional Planning.

More information about the contest is available at the Bay Area ITE site at http://www.sfbayite.org/