Diamonds Are Forever

Can auto-happy Californians be coaxed out of their cars? If Donald Burns' experience is any indication, the answer appears to be no. In an effort to cut down on gas consumption and air pollution, Burns, who is California's secretary of business and transportation, instituted a "disincentive" plan on March 15 aimed at frustrating Los Angeles-area motorists into leaving their cars at home. Two lanes--one in each direction--of the busy Santa Monica Freeway were marked with diamond-shaped signs and set aside for buses and cars carrying three or more people during the morning and evening rush hours. All other vehicles were kept to the slower-moving lanes. Purpose of the plan: to persuade Californians to form car pools or to use Los Angeles' regional commuter bus system.

Instead of meekly abandoning their automobiles, however, many motorists simply forsook the freeway, jamming adjacent streets, increasing average commuting times by as much as 20% and raising the accident rate by 10%. Others ignored the diamond signs and used the restricted lanes whenever patrol cars were out of sight. Students and the unemployed gathered at access ramps; they offered themselves as passengers at a dollar a head for cars with fewer than three occupants. The buses, meanwhile, ran virtually empty. Of the 90,000 free-ride tickets distributed by the Southern California Rapid Transit District to lure new riders during the first two weeks of April, only 315 were used.

Bus and car-pool usage has increased since the first chaotic day of the plan. But many Californians are convinced that the diamond-lane plan is a disaster, and several Los Angeles-area officials have attempted to repeal or modify the program. The California department of transportation seems determined to prove that the diamonds are forever. The department proudly claims that it now takes at least two minutes less to drive 12.5 miles of freeway than it did before mid-March. California motorists concede that this may be true. But they point out that it now takes longer than ever to get onto the freeway and into the lanes.

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