Motorcycles and HOV lanes in the city of Toronto | GTAMotorcycle.com

Motorcycles and HOV lanes in the city of Toronto

Are motorcycle allowed to use hov lanes inside the city of Toronto (excluding highways) ?

  • No. Motorcycles are not allowed to use hov inside the city of Toronto

    Votes: 1 7.7%
  • Yes. Motorcycle are allowed to use hov lanes still

    Votes: 12 92.3%

  • Total voters
    13

Salstab

New member
I was riding on don mills near downtown and noticed that the motorcycle icon was greyed out in the hov lanes inside the city. Some of them looks like don’t even show motorcycle are allowed on this road. Is there a rule in the city of Toronto where motorcycle aren’t allowed to use hov lanes anymore?
 

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I was riding on don mills near downtown and noticed that the motorcycle icon was greyed out in the hov lanes inside the city. Some of them looks like don’t even show motorcycle are allowed on this road. Is there a rule in the city of Toronto where motorcycle aren’t allowed to use hov lanes anymore?
I recall that it varied across the city. Don Mills was a road I used to ride my bike on and the sign wasn't greyed out like you showed. Bay Street had a diamond lane but it was not like a typical HOV for bikes, but rather for taxi's and buses.
 
Here's the Ontario info: High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes

and an excerpt:

Who can use HOV lanes​

You can use an HOV lane if you have at least two people (including the driver) in a:

  • car
  • van or light truck
  • commercial truck less than 6.5 metres long with a gross weight of 4,500 kg or less
  • vehicle towing a trailer with a combined vehicle-trailer length of less than 6.5 metres
Some vehicles can use HOV lanes at all times, regardless of how many passengers they are carrying, including:

Some HOV lanes on the Queen Elizabeth Way (QEW), Highway 410 and Highway 403 can also be used by solo drivers with a High Occupancy Toll (HOT) lane permit as part of Ontario’s HOT lanes pilot program.

You can face fines and demerit points for using HOV lanes improperly.


Edit: Here's the old thread on the subject, I don't think they reached a definite conclusion:

City of Toronto HOV (DIamond) Lanes open for Motorcycles & Scooters.

Might be best to ask your Councillor. That's where they're supposed to be there for.
 
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Here's the Ontario info: High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes

and an excerpt:

Who can use HOV lanes​

You can use an HOV lane if you have at least two people (including the driver) in a:

  • car
  • van or light truck
  • commercial truck less than 6.5 metres long with a gross weight of 4,500 kg or less
  • vehicle towing a trailer with a combined vehicle-trailer length of less than 6.5 metres
Some vehicles can use HOV lanes at all times, regardless of how many passengers they are carrying, including:

Some HOV lanes on the Queen Elizabeth Way (QEW), Highway 410 and Highway 403 can also be used by solo drivers with a High Occupancy Toll (HOT) lane permit as part of Ontario’s HOT lanes pilot program.

You can face fines and demerit points for using HOV lanes improperly.

Provincial highways only for those rules.
Municipalities can set whatever rules they like (I guess because they “pay” for the roads and upkeep themselves)
 
Provincial highways only for those rules.
Municipalities can set whatever rules they like (I guess because they “pay” for the roads and upkeep themselves)
See my edit.

Province did their signs on the cheap, so motorcycles are only on every other sign here.
 
Some of the signs are greyed out, I ride Don mills pretty much every day it's not an issue with enforcement.

However the red bus lanes in Scarborough aren't motorcycle friendly-kingston road, morningside and eglinton ave east/

 
Some of the signs are greyed out, I ride Don mills pretty much every day it's not an issue with enforcement.

However the red bus lanes in Scarborough aren't motorcycle friendly-kingston road, morningside and eglinton ave east/

I would use that picture to fight the ticket if it was much money. Motorcycle is clearly visible. Lighter doesn't cut it for street signs designed to convey information quickly and accurately. If they didn't want motorcycles to use the lane, the motorcycle should not be visible (either a black or white rectangle completely obscuring it).
 
Some of the signs are greyed out, I ride Don mills pretty much every day it's not an issue with enforcement.

I take Don Mills from Thorncliff to York Mills almost every day just after 3pm


Majority of them are clearly patched up and special "3 or More".....not sure how it is beyond York Mills tho, I've been avoiding HOV for this stretch just in case lol
 
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I take Don Mills from Thorncliff to York Mills almost every day just after 3pm


Majority of them are clearly patched up and special "3 or More".....not sure how it is beyond York Mills tho, I've been avoiding HOV for this stretch just in case lol

Why the change, and why still have the motorcycle greyed out.

As for the 3 or more, seems anyone driving a cage with 2 people in it feel entitled to use that lane.
 

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