What are the new BUS-HOV lanes and how do black radars work in Spain?

Drivers in some of the main Spanish cities are already familiar with the BUS-HOV lanes, but others are still not familiar with these special channels for traveling with more than one occupant. Located at the entrances to cities, they were created to avoid the saturation experienced during rush hours.

Currently, there are already five active lanes of this type between the cities of Madrid, Valencia, Malaga and Seville, although it is expected that there will be eight when another is activated in the capital of Seville and another two in Tenerife. The last one to start is on the A-2 in Madrid. Currently in the testing phase, it incorporates new passenger detection systems that have been called black or occupancy radars.

How do these black radars work?

The objective of these control devices is to monitor compliance with the minimum authorized occupancy in the lane by scanning the passenger compartment. To do this, the system is supported by the DGT 3.0 ecosystem technology and is composed of:

Dynamic operation and schedules of the new A-2 lane

Unlike the classic BUS-HOV lane on the A-6, the infrastructure of the A-2 between Madrid and Alcalá de Henares does not have a physical separation barrier. It is a dynamic lane located on the left side of the road that is technologically managed in real time. The DGT has delimited the use of the lane through a system of light beacons and variable panels installed on the porches: