LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — The High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes connecting Interstate 15 to Highway US-95 in Las Vegas are finished and police began to enforcing lane rules 24/7 on Thursday.
The final step in implementing the lanes drew mixed reactions from drivers.
"It's not fair to the people that are going to work every day," Terry Whitaker said.
"I think they're actually pretty cool," Marissa Valensuela countered.
Valensuela said she is used to taking HOV lanes in California.
The Vegas lanes only allow cars with more than one passenger, or motorcycles with one or more riders, hopefully giving drivers an incentive to carpool.
"I've seen it a lot," Valensuela said. "A lot of people are starting to carpool to work."
The rules ban multi-axle trucks from the far-left lane, and doesn't allow drivers to enter or leave the HOV lane over the double white lines.
If police catch someone breaking the rules, they could be issued a $250 citation.
"If you can't afford a $250 fine, it's going to rack up and get worse," Whitaker said.
Las Vegas City Councilman Stavros Anthony has been against the conversion to HOV lanes since the plan began and said the council is directing the city attorney to dismiss any HOV violations that are issued in city limits.
Anthony said the council is waiting to see how the lanes work for traffic flow, and then the council could petition the state to remove them within city limits.
