The General Directorate of Traffic (DGT), along with the Directorate General of Roads of the Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility, the Regional Transport Consortium of Madrid (CRTM), and the Madrid City Council, will oversee these tests after the infrastructure works are completed.
Initially, the left lane of the A-2 will operate as a Bus-VAO only up to Torrejón de Ardoz, although the infrastructure is prepared up to Alcalá de Henares, which will be included in a second phase.
This lane, approximately 19 kilometers long and without physical separation from the rest of the carriageway, aims to promote public transport and carpooling. It will be activated during peak traffic hours and revert to a conventional lane the rest of the day.
Buses, vehicles with two or more occupants, motorcycles, and emergency vehicles will be able to use it. Electric cars with a single occupant must meet the same minimum occupancy requirement as other vehicles.
During the first week of August, it will be active from 7:00 AM to 9:00 AM in both directions. Subsequently, a second period from 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM will be added for traffic leaving Madrid.
Access and exit will be through designated zones marked by green (permitted) and amber (prohibited) luminous beacons. Information panels will indicate when the lane is operational. Towards Madrid, access points are in Torrejón de Ardoz, Rejas, and Canillejas, with an exit at Avenida de América. For traffic leaving Madrid, access points are at Arturo Soria-Josefa Valcárcel and the Eisenhower interchange, with exits in Canillejas and Rejas.
The Regional Transport Consortium of Madrid will conduct a pilot test with interurban express buses to the Avenida de América interchange to evaluate the impact on travel times.
Ten interurban lines will participate (223, 224, 224A, 226, 227, 229, 261, 281, 282, 283) from municipalities such as Alcalá de Henares, Torrejón de Ardoz, Coslada, and San Fernando de Henares.
A total of 107 daily expeditions are scheduled towards Madrid (40 express) and 83 in the outbound direction (32 express). On Fridays, an additional 75 expeditions (30 express) will run between 3:00 PM and 5:00 PM.
Compliance with the rules will be monitored through license plate reading systems and occupancy detection technology. Infringers may be fined. During the tests, system functionality and traffic evolution will also be monitored.
