CA ahead of VA

Man, I never thought i woudl say this considring how useless and backwards the folks in CA are these days. But amazingly they have made some sense. They allow the Hybrid exemption to drop in their HOV lanes.

So sad that our VA folks can't seem to get past the giant campaign donations from the auto dealers and do a similar provision.

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Hybrid drivers lose special privileges in Calif.
By DAISY NGUYEN, Associated Press

Associated Press June 29, 2011 12:36 PM

For six years, California gave owners of hybrid cars the keys to the fast lane: permission to drive alone among carpoolers.

Now hybrids are about to lose the special privilege that was intended as a reward for saving gas and protecting the environment. The vehicles are no longer novel, their key-shaped yellow decals faded from the sun, and transportation officials want to make way for a new generation of even cleaner cars.

Starting Friday, 85,000 hybrid owners have to get back in line with the gas guzzlers, the truckers and everyone else or face steep fines.

State officials say the time has come to end the hugely popular incentive program introduced in August 2005 because they've met their goal of getting drivers to switch to low-emission hybrids, which run on both electricity and gasoline.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2011/06/29/national/a123246D38.DTL#ixzz1QmVntIxG

VA has made the commitment to end the HOV exemption for hybrids effective July 1 2012. There is a thread in the hybrid section about it. Shame it was supposed to take effect this year but the bill got amended.

quote:

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Originally posted by CurlyHairedGirl

Looked it up on VDOT. Newer hybrids can't get on HOV, so the dealerships don't have any reason to support HOV exemptions.

# Hybrid vehicles licensed with clean fuel plates issued before July 1, 2006 are allowed to use the I-95/395 HOV lanes during HOV hours (6 a.m.-9 a.m.; 3:30 p.m.-6 p.m., Monday through Friday). The current exemption expires June 30, 2012.

# Hybrids with clean fuel plates purchased after July 2006 are not allowed to travel on the I-95/395 HOV lanes without three people on board.

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Yes they can. If you have a Hybrid with the proper plate (the CF, CX, and CZ series), and you purchase a new Hybrid, you can transfer the plate and continue to use the 395/95 HOV lanes with only one person.

Looks like some, like colossus, missed part of the article. There's still an exemption.

"State officials said hybrid owners knew the end was coming. The decals were set to expire late last year, but state lawmakers approved a six-month extension to ease the transition to the next generation of cleaner, plug-in hybrids. Starting Jan. 1, the state will award 40,000 green bumper decals to owners of these "partial zero-emission" vehicles."

Interesting that the article proves the point - if you want to stimulate the economy without using taxpayer funds (which increases the debt), you can offer hybrid perks for pavement. So, you get people buying cars (stimulates economy), that are fuel efficient (reducing reliance on foreign oil, lowering demand and also fuel prices), and reduce air polution. WHAT A BARGAIN!!

Unless you believe you have an entitlement to a free commute.