View I-40 Bus on Shoulder System in a larger map

The overhead sign on eastbound I-40 this morning said something like this: I-540 7 MILES. EST TIME 40 - 50 MINS. Fortunately, it didn't take me quite that long to creep past the snow-related accidents that had clogged the freeway.

And then I noticed the big green Triangle Transit bus cruising past the rest of us, on the freeway shoulder. It was the Chapel Hill-Raleigh Express (CRX). And I wondered how this bus-on-shoulder program is working out for folks who commute by bus on I-40 each day.

So tell me. Are you one of those bus commuters -- mostly but not only I think on the CRX route -- who have used the bus-on-shoulder option in recent weeks, or this morning? I'd like to get your impressions. Please email me or call me TODAY at 919-829-4527. Don't forget to provide your complete daytime contact info, so I can call you back.

View I-40 Bus on Shoulder System in a larger map

Interstate 40 commuters should not be surprised next week to see the occasional Triangle Transit bus rolling past them on the freeway shoulder  - while cars and trucks are stuck in the latest traffic jam.

North Carolina's "bus-on-shoulder" pilot program gets under way Monday on I-40 in Durham County. It will give bus riders a new advantage over other commuters.

Whenever the traffic stops or crawls as slowly as 35mph, transit bus drivers will have the option to drive slowly on the shoulder -- something that will continue to be illegal for other vehicles.  Bus drivers will be allowed on the shoulder to drive no faster than 35mph, and no more than 15mph faster than I-40 traffic. ... [MORE]

View I-40 Bus on Shoulder System in a larger map

North Carolina's "bus-on-shoulder" pilot program is scheduled to start July 16, giving commuters on a few Triangle Transit routes the option to bypass rush-hour congestion by rolling on the Interstate 40 shoulder.

When traffic stops or crawls as slowly as 35mph, bus drivers on I-40 will be able to drive slowly on the shoulder, something that will continue to be illegal for other drivers.  The initial program will be in effect for a 10-mile section of I-40 in both directions between U.S. 15-501 and N.C. 147 (the Durham Freeway and Triangle Expressway), and in the eastbound direction for two miles from N.C. 147 to Page Road.

That stretch of I-40 is traversed only by a handful of Triangle Transit routes: ... [MORE]

If you're driving I-40 in the next few months and see a bus rolling along the shoulder, it's probably not in trouble.

It's in an experiment. ...