Problem: Commuter buses that run on highways without HOV lanes are often stuck in the same congestion as cars, and there’s either no money, room, or political will to build a dedicated busway.

Solution: Let buses bypass highway congestion by running on existing highway shoulders.

Shoulders have limits; merging at exits would be complicated, bus speed would be limited for safety reasons, and buses would have to move in to the general lanes whenever someone needs the shoulder for a break down or police action. Still, shoulder running can improve transit travel times by a lot.

There are a handful of examples of this practice around the DC region today, most notably on the Dulles Access Road between the Beltway and I-66, but the idea could be easily implemented on a much wider scale.

Today at the Transportation Planning Board, members asked that a working group be convened to discuss further applicability of this idea in our region. The working group would consist of elected officials and staff members from the various jurisdictions and DOTs. Obviously their work has yet to start, but in a few years we might look back on today’s meeting as the beginning of a regional highway bus lanes network. Wouldn’t that be nice.

Dulles Access Road shoulder, with sign indicating bus use at peak periods.