HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.R. NO.	114
TWENTY-SEVENTH LEGISLATURE, 2013
STATE OF HAWAII

HOUSE RESOLUTION

rEQUESTING THAT THE DIRECTOR OF TRANSPORTATION INCREASE THE MINIMUM NUMBER OF OCCUPANTS REQUIRED IN A VEHICLE operating IN THE zIPPER lANE.

     WHEREAS, many Oahu residents spend hours in gridlock or stop-and-go traffic during their commute each morning and afternoon; and

     WHEREAS, the East-bound traffic in the morning hours is especially heavy, particularly on the H1 and H2 Freeways, due in large part to the high volume of vehicles and a lack of incentive to carpool; and

     WHEREAS, the zipper lane was created as an express lane on the freeway to benefit carpooling commuters and mitigate traffic; and

     WHEREAS, the State currently requires that vehicle operators who choose to use the zipper lane contain a minimum of two passengers; and

     WHEREAS, the two passenger requirement does not sufficiently encourage meaningful carpooling and the zipper lane remains prone to gridlock traffic; and

     WHEREAS, the purpose of the zipper lane would be better achieved by increasing the number of passengers required to be in each vehicle in order for that vehicle to be able to use the zipper lane, which would lessen the traffic in the zipper lane; now, therefore,

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-seventh Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2013, that the Director of Transportation is requested to increase the minimum number of occupants required in a vehicle for use of the zipper lane from two individuals to three individuals; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that should the Director of Transportation find that the zipper lane remains inefficient after the minimum passenger number increases to three, the Director is requested to further increase the minimum number of occupants a vehicle operating within the zipper lane must carry to increase the efficiency of the zipper lane; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a certified copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the Director of Transportation.

OFFERED BY:

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Report Title: 

Zipper Lane; Minimum Occupancy; Director of Transportation