That's great until there is a wreck or a stall in the enclosed HOV lane...then you are trapped. I see it fairly frequently on the Gulf Freeway.
2nd train/car accident in the past two days...this article makes it appear that the train was at fault... http://www.chron.com/houston/article/Another-train-crash-near-Medical-Center-5640621.php Another train crash near Medical Center By Dale Lezon | July 23, 2014 For the second time in as many days a Metro train collided with a vehicle near the Texas Medical Center. The incident happened about 7 a.m. on Fannin near Cambridge, said Carolina Mendoza, a spokeswoman for the Metropolitan Transit Authority. Mendoza said a train traveling southbound hit the back of a vehicle that was stopped on the tracks waiting to make a left turn at an intersection. The driver and the passenger in the vehicle were taken to Ben Taub General Hospital. They complained of back and leg pain. Mendoza said motorists can legally be on the train tracks to make left turns at that portion of the light-rail system. The driver was waiting behind a few other cars to make a left turn and the train operator did not control the train's speed sufficiently to avoid colliding with the back of the vehicle. Rail service was interrupted for about 15 minutes but then returned to normal.
