Latest news with #CleanAirVehicle
Yahoo
18-03-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
California EV Drivers Might Lose HOV Lane Access In September
As newly minted Tesla owner/spokesperson and President of the United States Donald Trump looks to cancel legislation intended to preserve the environment, it seems like California's HOV lane exemption for electric and plug-in vehicles is next on the chopping block. We covered just about everything there is to know about HOV lanes earlier this month, but as it pertains to this topic, one function of HOV lanes is that they encourage road goers to carpool to decrease the number of tailpipes that belch out Earth-warming emissions. California currently allows owners of Clean Air Vehicles to apply for special decals that allow drivers to use the HOV lane regardless of vehicle occupancy, thanks to their decreased or eliminated emissions. The state issued 194,486 Clean Air Vehicle exemptions in 2024, a 52-percent increase in the number issued in 2023, but the current program is set to expire on September 30, and prospects of an extension look grim. The 1998 Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century allowed states to issue these permits, and California instituted its program the following year in 1999. Qualifications for these decals have become stricter over the years. Originally any sort of hybrid qualified — you'll still see second-gen Priuses driving around with their original stickers in California — but currently, qualifying vehicles must be fully electric, hydrogen-fuel cell, a plug-in hybrid that meets certain conditions (mainly EV range) or compressed natural gas vehicles that meet certain conditions. Automotive News reports, In 2024, the state's Department of Motor Vehicles issued 194,486 stickers allowing cars to use the HOV lane with single occupancy through the Clean Air Vehicle decal program. That's a 52 percent increase from 2023's 128,122 decals. The popularity of the program paradoxically undermines its efficiency. As more vehicles are able to use the HOV lane, it becomes more crowded, eroding the incentive for both clean-air vehicle drivers and those making a concerted effort to carpool. "You're going to reach some point where you've exhausted that excess capacity," said John Swanton, an air pollution specialist with the California Air Resource Board's communications office. "We're not at the point where, no matter what we do, it's totally exhausted, but the challenge to our legislature is how to keep this a meaningful incentive." Read more: Honda Prologue Costs Less, Gets More Range Than Chevy Blazer EV Sibling Swanton told Automotive News that the impact of discontinuing the program "is not going to be a deal-breaker," since the number of people buying qualifying vehicles to take advantage of the carpool incentive is small nowadays. On the flip side, California Republican State Assemblymember Greg Wallis said it's a "key incentive" for many Californian car shoppers. Wallis authored a bill that would extend the state's Clean Air Vehicle decal initiative through Jan. 1, 2027, but it is currently pending extended federal authorization. That federal authorization is likely going to be very challenging for Republican Assemblymember Wallis' bill. The Republican-led Congress has introduced a bill to eliminate the individual $7,500 EV tax credit, and both Trump and his pick to run the EPA Lee Zeldin have been quite vocal about their intentions to gut environmental protections, so hope for the revival of the decal initiative is waning. According to the California Energy Commission, California had over 1.6 million EVs on its roads at the end of 2024, not including plug-in-hybrid or hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles. The impact of losing the Clean Air Vehicle initiative could have been more devastating to widespread EV adoption in years past, but hopefully the impact is minimal should Wallis' proposed program extension get shot down. Want more like this? Join the Jalopnik newsletter to get the latest auto news sent straight to your inbox... Read the original article on Jalopnik.
Yahoo
17-03-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
California's carpool lane perk for EVs nears the end of the road
The federal law that enables California's electric vehicles to use the high-occupancy vehicle lane without passengers is set to expire, spelling a likely end to a popular incentive amid broader attacks on EV-friendly policies. The change will come at a time of political polarization around clean transportation and as President Donald Trump's administration proposes eliminating other electric vehicle incentives such as the individual $7,500 EV tax credit. The federal statute says public authorities can allow use of carpool lanes by single-occupancy vehicles meeting certain conditions until Sept. 30. California legislators want to extend the window, but lawmakers in Washington, D.C., have yet to introduce a bill or otherwise move to authorize an extension. California allows certain vehicles, including EVs, to use the high-occupancy vehicle lane without passengers. The table below illustrates the program's popularity over the years as it is set to expire in September. Total decals issued 2019 98,634 2020 59,173 2021 84,493 2022 118,750 2023 128,122 2024 194,486 Total 683,658 Source: California Department of Motor Vehicles Republican State Assemblymember Greg Wallis, who authored the bill to extend the HOV lane rule in California, called it a 'key incentive.' 'Many California auto buyers purchase ZEVs to access HOV lanes,' he said in a statement. 'I strongly encourage the Trump administration to extend the program to keep our transportation transition moving in the right direction.' In 2024, the state's Department of Motor Vehicles issued 194,486 stickers allowing cars to use the HOV lane with single occupancy through the Clean Air Vehicle decal program. That's a 52 percent increase from 2023's 128,122 decals. The popularity of the program paradoxically undermines its efficiency. As more vehicles are able to use the HOV lane, it becomes more crowded, eroding the incentive for both clean-air vehicle drivers and those making a concerted effort to carpool. 'You're going to reach some point where you've exhausted that excess capacity,' said John Swanton, an air pollution specialist with the California Air Resource Board's communications office. 'We're not at the point where, no matter what we do, it's totally exhausted, but the challenge to our legislature is how to keep this a meaningful incentive.' The 1998 Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century allowed states to permit a vehicle with fewer than two occupants to operate in the HOV lane if the vehicle is 'certified as an inherently low-emission vehicle.' That law enabled California to create its decal program in 1999, which was designed to incentivize the adoption of new technologies. 'This has been absolutely instrumental,' Swanton said. 'It was a tool used to essentially promote more rapid adoption of those technologies and it did it by utilizing excess capacity in the HOV lanes.' Sign up for the weekly Automotive News Mobility Report newsletter for the latest developments at the intersection of transportation and technology. There have been several versions of the decal program, with different powertrain requirements for eligibility. Now, qualifying vehicles must be 100 percent electric or hydrogen-fuel cell vehicles, plug-in hybrids that meet certain conditions or compressed natural gas vehicles that meet certain conditions. The federally granted state authority to use the HOV lane to encourage clean transport expires in September. Wallis, the California lawmaker, authored a bill that extended the state program until Jan. 1, 2027 ― pending extended federal authorization. There are several considerations for extending the federal law. Those in favor say it would continue to incentivize zero-emissions vehicles at a key moment for the energy transition. Sales for EVs are still growing, but at a slower clip than in years past. 'It would provide a small but an additional incentive to support the growth of the zero-emission vehicle market,' said John Boesel, CEO of CALSTART, a nonprofit focused on clean transportation. However, the inclusion of clean-air vehicles in the HOV lane does not motivate carpooling to reduce congestion overall, which is the true purpose of the lane. There are other ways the state can leverage HOV lanes to reduce congestion and pollution ― for example, by charging a toll for use of the lane that can fund other transportation programs. The decal initiative would also require a federal extension when policies encouraging EV adoption are under threat. The Republican-led Congress has introduced a bill to eliminate the individual $7,500 EV tax credit. California's EV policies are of particular import to Republicans because the state has a waiver from the EPA to write its own, stricter greenhouse gas emissions standards. Critics say this creates a system of dual regulations for automakers. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise of Louisiana has identified eliminating the California waiver as a priority for the legislature. 'The general consensus is that this is not going to be a deal-breaker' if the incentive is not extended, CARB's Swanton said. 'Nowadays, the number of folks that only buy [a qualifying vehicle] because they have this carpool incentive is pretty small.' Have an opinion about this story? Tell us about it and we may publish it in print. Click here to submit a letter to the editor.
