California,  Government,  Law

California Hybrid Automobile Watch: The Great Race

The San Francisco Chronicle has Drivers race for carpool permits for hybrids 1,000 apply per day — but many must get FasTrak, too

California hybrid car owners, already leveraging super-efficient gas mileage during a time of $3-a-gallon unleaded, are flooding the state with more than 1,000 requests a day for permits that will allow them to zip into carpool lanes even if they drive solo.

More than 12,000 people have applied for the special permits since they became available Aug. 10, said Bill Branch, a spokesman for the Department of Motor Vehicles. So far, about 1,500 stickers have been sent out.

Motorists who own one of three hybrid models — the Toyota Prius, the Honda Insight and the hybrid Honda Civic — will be allowed to use carpool lanes without carrying other passengers, thanks to a provision in a federal energy bill signed by President Bush and state legislation signed last year by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

The Department of Motor Vehicles estimates that about 65,670 hybrids are eligible in California, although some may not be registered in the state any longer, and not all hybrid owners are expected to apply for the permit. The state law allows up to 75,000 permits to be issued.

Well, you better hurry up and get your permit. But, wait there are hidden costs.

In the Bay Area, however, residents also must have a FasTrak transponder to receive the permit. Not all Bay Area hybrid drivers are happy about the extra hurdle.

“It seems a little bit unfair that people otherwise qualified aren’t allowed to participate unless they are able to participate in the other program,” said Paul Marcus of Oakland, who owns a hybrid car but does not often travel over the Bay Area bridges.

The permit costs $8, but FasTrak requires either a $40 or $50 start-up fee, depending on the method of payment.

On the other hand……

Drivers using the carpool lanes do not have to pay tolls on the Bay Area bridges. In most cases, the carpool lanes feed directly up to the toll plazas.

Flap estimates that there will so many hybrid car buyers that HOV car pool lanes will become flooded with vehicles.

Perhaps then the state will be realistic in their traffic projections and widen the freeways like they should have been decades previous.

There are concerns, however, about whether the carpool lanes will become too crowded. The law allows the DMV to issue 75,000 permits, but it allows the program to be suspended after 50,000 are issued, depending on congestion in the high-occupancy vehicle lanes. That will be determined by state and federal officials.

Rentschler said MTC would be watching closely to see whether carpool lanes become too crowded.

Even though he owns a hybrid, Marcus said, he’s not sure he buys into the philosophy that he should be able to use a carpool lane.

“While a hybrid cuts pollution per passenger mile, they don’t relieve car density,” he said. “I don’t know what happens when the HOV lanes are as clogged as the lanes next to them.”

The state law allowing hybrids to use the carpool lanes expires in 2008.

There will be modification in this legislation long before 2008.

If I were you I would buy the Prius for the Prius sake and not for using the carpool lanes and a faster commute.

Off to the races, California! Hurry up and obtain your permit!

H/T: Eric Hogue

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