Voie Rapide : Voies réservées

Voies réservées

Faced with the need to increase traffic fluidity whilst not having the means to increase capacity on the road, France has introduced the concept of the reserved lane.

Originally trialled back in 1999, on a stretch of A50 near Marseille, the concept has been resurrected to encourage people to use greener travel options; this includes making use of the vast number of carpooling areas located on the motorway network.

This follows schemes introduced in Spain and the UK, and based on the widespread use of high occupancy vehicle lanes across the USA and Canada.

Who can use these lanes?

Designed to encourage collective transport, reserved lanes - les voies réservées - reward users by providing a free-flowing lane during the otherwise congested peak periods.

As a result, only selected users can use the reserved lanes:
- vehicles with a minimum of two occupants;
- zero emission vehicles that hold a green Crit'Air sticker, even with just one person;
- taxis and selected local bus services.

Their use is closely monitored: any misuse of the lanes will be captured by specialist roadside cameras that can detect the number of passengers in a vehicle. Anyone found illegally using the lanes will be fined €135.

When are they in use?

Usage varies between each scheme - signage on the ground will state when a reserved lane applies. Variable speed limits will also be in force.

On some of the major schemes in France, the A480 Grenoble and A13 Saint Cloud lanes operate during the morning peak period, whilst the lanes on the M6 and M7 in Lyon apply at all times on Mondays to Fridays.

Another scheme on the A1 north of Paris has lanes in both directions: towards Paris operates in the morning peak, whilst the outbound lane applies in the evening rush hour. On the opposite side of Paris, the high occupancy lanes on the south side of the Périphérique operate during both peaks, in both directions.

Signage

To make the reserved lanes easily recognisable, signage incorporates the diamond symbol used widely in North America.

Signage on the approaches will state which vehicles are permitted to use the lane concerned.


Reserved lane ahead permitted vehicles shown		Reserved lane		End of reserved lane

On autoroutes, dynamic siganage is used instead. These are only illuminated when the reserved lane is in operation; at other times, the lane can be used by all vehicles.