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Single-rider motorcycles could soon use HOV lanes in Ontario: government

The Canadian Press Published Monday, April 29, 2019 3:04PM EDT Last Updated Monday, April 29, 2019 3:15PM EDT

Vehicles crawl past the nearly empty Pan Am high-occupancy vehicle lanes as morning rush hour traffic crawls in Toronto on Monday, June 29, 2015. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn)

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TORONTO -- Solo motorcycle riders could soon be able to use Ontario's network of high occupancy vehicle lanes.

Transportation Minister Jeff Yurek says the province is planning to change the rules around the HOV lanes that currently bar single-rider motorcycles from using them.

Yurek says the change will increase safety on the highways and better align with HOV lane rules used in other jurisdictions.

The government posted the proposed changes to the Highway Traffic Act on its regulatory registry on Monday.

Ontario currently has HOV lanes on Highways 403, 404, 417 and the QEW, and access to them is restricted to certain types of vehicles carrying at least two people.

Drivers who break the rules can face fines of $110 and three demerit points.