Madrid‑Alcalá de Henares A‑2 corridor opens Bus‑VAO lane

Spain’s traffic authority, the Dirección General de Tráfico (DGT), has begun a pilot of a new Bus‑VAO lane on the A‑2 highway that links Madrid with Alcalá de Henares. The left‑most lane in each direction is equipped with dynamic traffic‑management technology that switches between a restricted Bus‑VAO mode and a regular free‑flow mode according to the time of day.

During the first week of the test in August, the lane operates as a Bus‑VAO lane from 07:00 to 09:00 in both directions. From the second week onward, a second restricted period of 15:00‑17:00 is added, but only for traffic exiting Madrid. Outside these windows the lane functions as a normal lane open to all vehicles.

Access in the restricted periods is limited to buses, vehicles carrying two or more occupants, motorcycles and other authorized vehicles; single‑occupant zero‑emission cars are not permitted. Ten inter‑urban bus lines (223, 224, 224A, 226, 227, 229, 261, 281, 282, 283) will use the lane during the pilot. The DGT describes the project as a new model of dynamic road‑capacity management intended to give priority to public transport and high‑occupancy vehicles on one of Madrid’s busiest approaches.