The fastest-growing transit mode in Houston must be the bike-bus combo. When only a few buses had bike racks, the numbers lagged, but once the whole fleet was converted, some bikers were, too.

The Metropolitan Transit Authority says there were 2,567 bike-bus boardings in May, a 70 percent increase over April's 1,510, which in turn followed a 50 percent increase over March.

Even so, the May figure works out to about 83 boardings a day, so there's room for a lot more in a system with nearly 1,000 buses.

EZ Tag-friendly

Mark Babineck, a business editor for the Houston Chronicle, was confused by plans for the new Katy Freeway lanes that will be open both to high-occupancy vehicles (HOVs) and to single-occupancy vehicles (SOVs) whose drivers pay a toll.

"What does someone do who has a packed car AND an EZ Tag?" Babineck asked.

It's been a long time since the tags were hand-held. To prevent their use on more than one car, they're now stuck to the windshield. That creates a problem, as Babineck noted.

"I don't see how an EZ Tag user can avoid paying a toll if they happen to have two other people in the car," he said.

The Harris County Toll Road Authority thought about that, too. Spokeswoman Patti Evans said there will be a designated lane for vehicles with both EZ Tags and enough occupants to ride free. Those accounts will not be debited, Evans said, but there will be attendants to watch that lane for cheats.

HOT topics

An e-mail from the Reason Foundation, a free-market think tank, said Metro has agreed to ground rules for the Katy Freeway HOT lanes that could raise their occupancy requirement from three or more to four or more, if necessary, to keep traffic flowing smoothly.

That sounded worrisome, since there are all sorts of ways to do that by adjusting the two variables involved — occupancy rules and toll rates — and these different ways have different effects.

For instance, you can set the tolls to generate maximum revenue and then set occupancy rules to fill up whatever capacity, if any, is left over in the lanes. If there's hardly any space left after the paying customers get to ride, you might set the rules at four or more.

Or you could set the occupancy rules to maximize ride-sharing, ignoring revenue for the moment, and then set tolls high enough to fill whatever capacity remained.

Both Metro and HCTRA have their virtues and flaws, but one big difference between them is that the toll road authority makes money and will try to make profits from the Katy Freeway managed lanes that could be spent on future roads.

We asked deputy director Peter Key how the rates and rules would be set.

He said Commissioners Court has not voted on an operating agreement for the lanes but added that there has been no talk about requiring four or more riders.

Key said a memo of understanding seven years ago envisioned that the three or more requirement could be increased if the lanes were filling to capacity.

"But this is a managed lane facility, not a pure toll road," he said. "The county invested $250 million in cash on that freeway to move people. They didn't do it to make money."

Metro lawsuits

There are developments in two lawsuits against Metro.

The Texas Medical Center and Metro will be in state District Judge Tracy Christopher's court today, where TMC is seeking an order for Metro to stop the leakage of "stray" electrical current from its light rail line into the ground.

Metro has asked the judge to dismiss the case on grounds of sovereign immunity, which protects government bodies performing their functions. Metro also says the lawsuit is not "ripe" because the Medical Center has not shown that the current has caused any harm.

In the other case, the lawyer for Richmond Avenue merchant and resident Daphne Scarbrough has pared down her lawsuit to the single issue of whether Metro has the right to build part of its University light rail line on Richmond.

Attorney Andy Taylor originally argued that Metro's plans would violate several terms of the November 2003 referendum in which voters approved a broad transit plan. For instance, it questioned whether Metro had made "general mobility" payments to local governments in the area as required.

Metro spokesman George Smalley interpreted the change as caving in on the other claims. Taylor said he decided to "rifle in" solely on the Richmond question in order to simplify issues for an appellate court.

As in the stray current case, Metro argues that Scarbrough has not been harmed and that Metro has immunity. State District Judge Levi Benton has indicated he will consider Metro's request to throw out Scarbrough's case.

If Benton does that, Taylor said he will appeal, and if he wins, the case may go to trial by jury this fall.

traffic@chron.com

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