HONOLULU -- The state Department of Transportation announced Monday it is changing the minimum number of people in vehicles traveling in the Zipper Lane from two to three.

Officials want more people in fewer cars to speed up traffic.

Starting July 8, motorists will need one more person in the vehicle during regular hours of operation, which is from 5:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m.

Rush-hour traffic on the H-1 Freeway can feel as if it gets worse by the day for many commuters. Some have used the Zipper Lane to save them some grief.

"Ideally, if more people continue to carpool in 3s that means less cars overall, and hopefully that will translate to better commute time for the other lanes as well," Department of Transportation Director Brennon Morioka said.

DOT officials estimated that about 3,500 drivers use the Zipper Lane daily. Officials said their goal is to get fewer cars on the road.

Chuck Harlan lives on the North Shore and works downtown. He said he is disappointed by the news.

"I don't like that at all because that shuts me out of the zip lane. It's horrible," Harlan said.

Harlan and his wife take the Zipper Lane everyday. It saves more than 20 minutes on their commute, they said.

Harlan said he thinks the new requirement will make traffic worse.

"All those people with two people are bumped out," he said. "I see a lot of people with two people in the zipper lane. I don't see a lot with 3. That's terrible."

Some drivers agree.

"It's just going to make all the other lanes more crowded because now if you only have two you got to ride with everyone else, that doesn't seem right," Rob Reich said.

"You know current trends with gas prices well over $4, today people are making different decisions in choosing to commute. So more people are jumping into other people's cars," Morioka said.

Others believe more people will carpool.

"I think they will go with it because it's so hard to get from the west side into Honolulu or any of those areas to get to work," motorist Karen Kruse said.

Violating the Zipper Lane rules can lead to fines starting at $75 and cost up to $200.

The DOT is also looking at preliminary plans of adding and afternoon Zipper Lane heading in the west direction.