The people who pushed for the construction of HOT lanes on SR 91 have a different agenda. Although these lanes can be used free of charge by vehicles with three or more passengers, the fact they are also used by single-person vehicles implies that HOV lanes are an inadequate solution to the nation's traffic problems. The message of SR 91 is that people would rather drive alone and are willing to pay a fee to do it faster. If HOV lanes provide the impetus for commuters to come together in carpools, company vans, and buses, the HOT lanes on SR 91 provide a reason to forego these temporary collectivities. In short, they promote individualism.
People can choose to compromise their privacy by traveling in carpools or buses.
Or they can choose to pay for the privilege of using the HOT lanes in privacy. Although something important disappears when the freeway ceases to be free for all, defenders of HOT lanes claim that they make up for its absence by providing increased flexibility. Whatever is lost when people are willing to pay a fee is recouped as freedom of choice. The debate about national healthcare provides a helpful analogy here. In order to combat the idea that universal coverage would be superior to our present system, pundits described the socialized medicine of countries like the United Kingdom as a kind of enforced mediocrity, in which the special needs of individual patients are sacrificed for the good of the collective.