Definition
A road vehicle carrying more than one occupant, referenced on aeronautical charts and airport diagrams when an HOV lane or roadway lies near an airport boundary, runway approach path, or movement area where it could affect obstacle clearance, line-of-sight, or surface operations.
Plain English
A car or bus that carries multiple people, usually traveling in a special lane reserved for vehicles with two or more passengers. On aviation charts, it just refers to that kind of road or lane near the airport.
Context Anchor
Seen in airport notices, NOTAM contractions, or ground transportation information when airport road lanes, terminal access, or parking-area routes are affected.
Why Pilots Care
Roads carrying tall vehicles like buses and trucks near a runway threshold are factored into obstacle clearance heights. Knowing what HOV refers to helps a pilot read the chart note correctly and understand why displaced thresholds or approach minimums sometimes account for road traffic.
Intuition Check
HOV does not refer to an aircraft with many passengers. In this context, it refers to ground transportation and airport road access.
Example Sentence 1
The airport diagram noted an HOV lane running parallel to the approach end of Runway 27, which the chart designer included because of nearby vehicle height.
Example Sentence 2
Ground transport from the FBO must avoid the HOV lane during morning rush hour.