Are Dedicated Carpool Lanes Coming Soon on the A1 and A13?

On the occasion of the Olympic Games, lanes on the A1 and A13 will be reserved for the transportation of organizers and athletes. They could later be closed to solo drivers.

The Olympic lanes on the A1 and A13 could be reserved for carpoolers and public transit after the sporting event. Although no official decision has been made, the idea is gaining traction at the Île-de-France Roads Department, which has launched a consultation on the matter. This consultation began on January 16 and will end on February 15, 2023. A dedicated website has been launched to gather various opinions.

If the idea is adopted — and all indications suggest it will be — the measure will be implemented at the end of 2024 / early 2025. In summary, it will involve reserving a lane for shared mobility as soon as traffic congestion is detected on specific sections of the A1 and A13. These sections are shown in the image below:

Illuminated signs will be installed along the lanes concerned. They will turn on once the system is activated. The issue of enforcement is not clearly settled. “A control system may be set up at various locations along the lane to ensure that only authorized vehicles — i.e., cars occupied by two or more people, public transport, or taxis — use the dedicated lane during activation hours”, the document simply states.

An idea already adopted or nearly so for the Paris ring road

Meanwhile, the city of Paris has already announced that Olympic lanes on the ring road will be reserved for “virtuous modes of transport” in the future. While the goal of this initiative is to reduce air pollution, the city hall assures that it could also ease traffic flow. Indeed, a higher occupancy rate of cars would have beneficial effects on traffic, as it would effectively reduce the number of vehicles on the road.

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