page_title: High-occupancy vehicle lane
section_title: Canada
hierarchical_section_title: High-occupancy vehicle lane / History / Canada
caption_attribution_description: A en:high-occupancy vehicle lane on en:Ontario Highway 404, looking southwards from the en:Finch Avenue overpass.
context_page_description: A high-occupancy vehicle lane is a restricted traffic lane reserved for the exclusive use of vehicles with a driver and one or more passengers, including carpools, vanpools, and transit buses. These restrictions may be only imposed during peak travel times or may apply at all times. According to the criteria used there are different types of lanes: temporary or permanent with concrete barriers; two-directional or reversible; and exclusive, concurrent or contraflow lanes working in peak periods. The normal minimum occupancy level is 2 or 3 occupants. Many jurisdictions exempt other vehicles, including motorcycles, charter buses, emergency and law enforcement vehicles, low-emission and other green vehicles, and/or single-occupancy vehicles paying a toll. HOV lanes are normally created to increase average vehicle occupancy and persons traveling with the goal of reducing traffic congestion and air pollution, although their effectiveness is questionable.
  Regional and corporate-sponsored vanpools, carpools, and rideshare communities give commuters a way to increase occupancy. For places without such services, online rideshare communities can serve a similar purpose.
context_section_description: The first HOV facilities in Canada were opened in Greater Vancouver and Toronto in the early 1990s, followed shortly by facilities in Ottawa, Gatineau, Montreal, and later Calgary. As of 2010 there were about 150 km (93 mi) of highway HOV lanes in 11 locations in British Columbia, Ontario, and Quebec, and over 130 km (81 mi) of arterial HOV lanes in 24 locations in Greater Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, Ottawa, and Gatineau. The Ontario Ministry of Transportation (MTO) in 2006 estimated that commuters in Toronto using the HOV facilities on Highways 403 and 404 were saving 14–17 minutes per trip compared to their travel time before the HOV lanes opened. The MTO also estimated that almost 40% of commuters were carpooling on Highway 403 eastbound in the morning peak hour, compared to 14% in 2003, and 37% of commuters were carpooling on Highway 403 westbound in the afternoon peak hour, compared to 22% in 2003. The average rush hour speed on the HOV lanes is 100 km/h (62 mph), compared to 60 km/h (37 mph) in general-traffic lanes on Highway 403.
  Temporary HOV lanes were added to selections of 400-series highways in the Greater Toronto Area for the 2015 Pan American Games and 2015 Parapan American Games.
caption: The HOV lanes on Ontario Highway 404 in Southern Ontario are separated by a striped buffer zone that breaks occasionally to allow vehicles to enter and exit the HOV lane.
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