Editor,

An open letter to B.C. Minister of Transportation Mike Farnworth:

Have you ever driven on Highway 99 south of the Massey Tunnel during rush hour? If you have, you will certainly understand my frustration, and if not, let me explain.

Travelling southbound north of the Massey tunnel on Highway 99, there are HOV/Bus Only lanes just as there are on Highway 1. However, south of the Massey Tunnel, there is no HOV lane, but there is a Bus Only lane.

While travelling home during rush hour to South ÐÔÊӽ紫ý, once I got past the Massey Tunnel, I encountered bumper-to-bumper traffic — which didn’t just extend the commute time, it also led to numerous accidents as well as an unnecessary amount of pollutants escaping into the atmosphere. Meanwhile, the Bus Only lane remained empty with the exception of one bus heading to Crescent Beach.

So, to summarize, millions of taxpayers' dollars have been spent so that an average of four buses an hour can have a lane to themselves while the atmosphere is polluted and traffic accidents abound.

This is obviously a wrongheaded decision that could be rectified at minimal cost by changing the signage on the Bus Only lane to read HOV/Bus Only.

I trust that you will agree with my comments and order the necessary changes to be made.

Yours sincerely,

Ken Harrap, ÐÔÊӽ紫ý