Car sharing has been on the rise in France for several years. And it is not for nothing that the government emphasizes this practice.

A new carpool lane

It should be said that the latter has a lot of advantages. In fact, it makes it possible to reduce fuel consumption, as well as traffic jams. Not to mention, of course, the money saved. In a word, there is only positive on paper. That is why the government wants to do everything to encourage motorists to choose this practice. And this, in particular, involves the creation of dedicated lanes on highways. This will be the case, for example, on A7, located to the south of Lyon. The measure, announced by the Ministry of Environmental Transition, aims to encourage car sharing, public transport and ultra-low emission vehicles. The East Central Interdepartmental Highway Authority has set the opening date for this route as Wednesday, March 20, from 7 a.m., subject to final inspections. Located on the left in the direction of north/south traffic, it stretches for 8 kilometers, starting 3 kilometers north of the Ternai junction and ending at the junction with the southern city boulevard in Feizin.

Carpool lane: how does it work?

The reserve lane will work every day from 7:00 a.m. to 9:30 a.m., with the exception of st. weekends and holidays. To inform motorists, light panels with a white diamond will indicate the activation periods. Thus, during these time slots, the current left lane will become the reserve lane. Dynamic traffic signs will limit the speed to 50 km/h on all traffic lanes. This measure is aimed at improving traffic flow and reducing pollutant emissions and noise pollution. The creation of this reserved lane is part of the process of improving mobility between Lyon and Saint-Etienne. This will allow users to benefit from a smoother route while helping to preserve the environment. The project, which is fully financed by the state, required a budget of three million euros. At this point, we don’t yet know if the radars designed to enforce this new lane will be installed or not. We’ll have to wait to find out.

It also remains to be seen whether it will be used frequently by road users or not.