HOV rubbish

so they have installed these "high occupancy vehicle" lanes on a couple highways here AROUND toronto to mimic california, hoping that it will make commuting downtown faster and draw more drivers to car-pool. i see what they are trying to do but i think they've blown it and missed the point.

they have one of these HOV lanes from hwy 7 to the DVP; not ON the DVP, the busiest entrance into downtown. why wouldn't they make it ON the DVP? by where they've situated it, they are relieving traffic on the 404 to the 401, not downtown which they boast that these new lanes will accomplish. people that take the 401 (south of hwy 7) to the DVP to go downtown are still encountering the same amonut of traffic, not to mention the new traffic created when the HOV lane ends and merges back to the DVP. from someone that has to commute, i don't see how this is going to make more people decide to car-pool and ease traffic to the downtown area. whadda waste!

if they want to decrease the amount of drivers to relieve traffic, and better the environment (if that's even a thought), they would put money into extending the subway, and lower the cost of monthly passes. the reason most people drive is because in the big picture, what they are saving by taking the subway compared to driving is worth the drive. someone that does not live in the city directly is not going to make use to their metropass other than to go into and leave work, 5 days a week; 10 trips. if you only pay for the 10 trips, it's much cheaper than buying a metropass, but still expensive. if they lowered the cost to fit into more of the populations budget (a price around 10 subway trips, but at a discounted price), then they would make more money, more people would consider and take the subway more often, traffic would be substantially less (that's just my prediction but it seems logical), thus everyone wins! make sense?

it's funny cause they keep testing it on CityTV (local news station), and they say "(the other driver) got there much faster than me. i was in stop and go traffic and she drove right by me and got here much quicker." i'm pretty sure she said the difference was 10 minutes. 10 minutes. worth it? doubt it!

oh, and i'm used to driving downtown in the mornings. if you start before 7:45am, there's not much of anything to worry about other than drivers that are oblivious to everything around them. 7:45am - 9am? good luck!

i just wrote an email to the mayor of toronto, mayor miller. i'm curious to see what he says, if he responds.