Motorway car-sharing lane opens

The £5.3m stretch links the southbound M606 from Bradford to the eastbound M62 towards Leeds.

Transport Secretary Ruth Kelly said similar traffic management measures could be introduced on another 500 miles of motorway.

Vehicles, but not motorcycles, must be carrying two or more people to use the 1.7-mile lane - heavy goods vehicles will not be allowed to use it.

The lane gives priority to motorists joining the eastbound carriageway of the M62 and will save the regular commuter, it is claimed, an estimated 30 to 40 minutes a week.

Air quality

Ms Kelly said motorists were being given the chance to "reduce both their journey times and their carbon footprints".

"Currently, four out of five vehicles using this busy junction have only one occupant.

"I hope this new lane will encourage people to share their journeys, which will ease congestion, cut journey times and improve local air quality," she said.

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"If the Government wants to do something about motorway congestion it should take the lorries off the road and use the railways for transporting goods instead. "
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John Jarvis, transport project director for Northern Way, which funded the project, added that greater levels of car sharing should be encouraged.

The provision of dedicated lanes at suitable locations would "help lock in the benefits of additional road capacity and be good for the economy and the environment", he added.

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