One day before DDOT planned to begin writing tickets for cars in bus lanes, the agency announced that, instead of starting enforcement, they would extend the warning period indefinitely.
That’s a problem. For one thing, blocked bus stop zones can prevent buses from pulling up to the curb, making it nearly impossible for wheelchair users to board.
Moreover, blocked bus stop zones slow everyone’s commute down — and I mean everyone. Metrobuses often travel at less than 10 miles an hour, WMATA has said.
A big chunk of D.C. households—over 35%—don’t own a car. But even for those who do, having better bus service means more people riding the bus and fewer other cars on the road at rush hour.
Research shows that adding extra lanes to roads does not fix traffic. It seriously never, ever works. With additional lanes, traffic gets better for a short while. But within a few years, more people end up driving (because they hear traffic is less of a nightmare), so it goes back to being just as congested as before, or worse. Every time.
What makes traffic better isn’t having more lanes. It’s having fewer cars on the road. That requires making buses a viable alternative.
One other point—also based on a longstanding, though counter-intuitive, research finding. In the Clear Lanes Program, the plan is for tickets to range between $100 and $200. That’s way too high. Over and over, studies have found that severe punishments do little to stop crime. Rather, what deters crime is certainty, according to the National Institute of Justice. It’s better to have a lesser punishment but super consistent enforcement.
Transportation officials told reporters that the reason for the enforcement delay was a need for more time to educate drivers about the program. I think $25 is a perfectly reasonable price for a learning experience; $200, maybe less so.
But right now, with the fine at $0, all folks are learning is that drivers can go wherever they want. The only consequence is making traffic worse for everybody.