I have a friend who, once he started steadily making mid-high six figures in Silicon Valley, began taking the HOV lane on his commute into work, despite driving alone. The calculus was easy. Assuming $500,000 salary (I think he made more), 8 hour days, 50 weeks a year, that's $250/hour. As a manager, he couldn't shuffle his schedule around very easily, unlike when he was programming and could come in late and leave late, or when you're a young programmer and come in early and leave late (or just sleep under your desk). The 30+ minutes saved during his commute each day was well worth the amortized cost of some tickets, and that's before accounting for the stress saved, marginal value on the dollar, additional personal time, etc. Though, when he told me this he hadn't yet accumulated many, if any, tickets, and I don't think automated occupant detection had been installed.

In the past couple of years there's now a toll option for some HOV lanes, which is how it should be. He's generally a very conscientious person, but time is money, particularly so when you're well remunerated.