Transit lanes are lanes on roadways in Australia and New Zealand set aside for vehicles with two or more passengers. Taxis, emergency vehicles and motorcycles can also use the lanes in most cases. They are "also known as T2 or T3 lanes",[1] after the minimum number of passengers required to drive a private vehicle in the transit lane (two or three persons, respectively). They are provided to encourage drivers to car-pool or ride-share, thereby reducing the number of vehicles using a road during peak times.
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The current network of transit lanes in the Sydney, Australia road network includes:[1]
In Melbourne, Australia, they are primarily used on freeways including:
There is also a transit lane northbound on Hoddle Street linking the city to start of the Eastern Freeway.
Transit lanes are also in operation in Brisbane, on several arterials and on the Pacific Motorway (M1).
In Auckland, New Zealand, there are several locations of transit lanes throughout the region. On Auckland's Northern, Southern and Northwestern motorways, some onramps which operate with ramp signals, have T2 lanes which bypass the ramp signals. Transit lane locations include:
Auckland City
North Shore City
Transit lanes are said to be abused by drivers in that they are rarely used by cars with two or more passengers[3]. This could be due to lack of policing of the lanes. This action is not isolated to Australia.
Creation of space for Transit Lanes on an existing road may involve removal of a shoulder or bike lane that was set aside for use by cyclists.