carpool
-
California plug-in car drivers with white or green carpool stickers can no longer use carpool lanes starting Tuesday. The state passed a new program last March that invalidates both the white stickers for electric cars and the green stickers for plug-in hybrids with the start of 2019. For many of those drivers, the state provided a way to extend carpool access, but drivers have to reapply for new red stickers that don't expire until New Year's Day 2022. DON'T MISS: Here's how California's carpool (HOV-lane) stickers work now: updated Only cars sold since the start of 2017, however...
-
Here's how California's carpool (HOV-lane) stickers work now: updated
For years, green-car buyers in California have enjoyed a special perk: access to high-occupancy vehicle lanes that can whiz past gridlock, even with just a single occupant. Now, updates to the rules signed into law in October by Governor Jerry Brown will likely change the way owners and shoppers...
Aaron Cole -
How to pay most of a million bucks to use the carpool lane in Florida
Some people will do anything to avoid a little traffic. Like many other states, Florida offers drivers of greener cars solo access to its high-occupancy vehicle lanes, also known as carpool lanes. That privilege is extended to hybrids, plug-in hybrids, and battery-electric cars. DON'T MISS: Porsche...
Stephen Edelstein -
California removes limit on carpool access for plug-in hybrids
California removed its limit on "green stickers" that grant carpool-lane access to plug-in hybrids.
Stephen Edelstein -
CA plug-in carpool-lane access bill up for vote; here's why some oppose it
Several months ago, the allocated supply of "green stickers" that give buyers of new plug-in hybrid cars access to California carpool lanes expired. So you think that a pending bill in the California state legislature to expand that supply would get the support of plug-in electric car advocates...
John Voelcker -
2017 Chevy Bolt EV sales could go as high as 80,000, says analyst
The question of how many electric cars can be sold in a single year remains a topic of hot debate as the U.S. market awaits the launch of the 200-mile Chevy Bolt EV at the end of this year. The world's best-selling electric car, the Nissan Leaf, had its highest-sales year in the U.S. in 2014, when...
John Voelcker -
There are no more California HOV-lane "green stickers" for plug-in hybrids.
-
Carpool-Lane Access: Very Important For Electric-Car Adoption, It Turns Out
A new study claims carpool-lane access significantly boosts electric-car sales in California.
Stephen Edelstein -
CA Green Stickers All But Gone; Q1's Plug-In Hybrid Sales Suffered This Year: UPDATE
All good things must come to an end, and so it is with the green stickers that give plug-in hybrid drivers access to California's freeway carpool lanes with just one person in the car. A total of 70,000 stickers were allotted, and the supply is now almost exhausted. A bill to allocate 15,000 more...
John Voelcker -
German State To Test City 'Eco Lane' For Cleanest Cars, Carpools
Carpool lanes have been an accepted part of the landscape in California for more than 40 years now. But they're less well-known in Europe, where bus lanes have taken priority instead--largely due to pervasive and well-accepted mass transit systems. But now Germany is planning to test the concept of...
John Voelcker -
2016 Chevy Volt To Get California Carpool Lane Access
Access to the carpool lane in California with only a single occupant has proven to be one of the more effective incentives to get the state's drivers to buy electric cars. The first year and a half of Chevy Volt range-extended electric cars didn't qualify, but Volt sales in California surged once...
John Voelcker -
First 2014 Mercedes-Benz B-Class Electric Drive Sold Last Month
Last month, 41 Mercedes-Benz B-Class Electric Drive hatchbacks were delivered to their owners, marking the first month of sales for the first battery-electric vehicle from the German luxury maker. The official first buyer, Kim Price, lives south of Los Angeles in Mission Viego; she's been a...
John Voelcker -
Lyft and Uber both plan to put multiple customers in the same car.
-
California Puts Its Electric-Car Owner Survey Info Online
California surveyed applicants for the state electric-car incentive program, and will put the results online.
Stephen Edelstein -
Highway Spending Bill To Bar Hybrids From Carpool-Lane Incentives?
Incentives to get drivers to buy highly fuel-efficient cars have taken many forms, one of the most popular being single-occupant access to carpool lanes on crowded freeways. Hybrid-electric vehicles were some of the first beneficiaries of these policies, but now they're being elbowed aside by...
John Voelcker -
Does Nissan Leaf Supplant The Prius As Loathing Target For CA Drivers?
If you've never lived in the San Francisco Bay Area, you may not have heard of "Mr. Roadshow," the nickname of San Jose Mercury News reporter Gary Richards. Nor will you know how important his columns are, covering traffic, congestion, freeways, law enforcement, cars, and all the other topics...
John Voelcker -
CA Electric-Car Incentive Update: Funds Run Out, Green Stickers Gone
Access to carpool lanes on California's legendarily crowded freeways is a big perk. So is getting a check in the mail that cuts the purchase cost. These incentives were successful in spurring sales of hybrids years ago, and they've helped sales of modern battery-electric and plug-in hybrid cars...
John Voelcker -
Who Buys Plug-In Electric Cars, And Why? CA Report Explains It All For You
Within two or three months, there will be more than 200,000 plug-in electric cars on U.S. roads--and we're learning more about who buys them, and why. California's Center for Sustainable Energy released a new report this month that depicts the owners of different models having different reasons for...
John Voelcker -
One of the major incentives for buying a plug-in electric car in California is the coveted sticker allowing single-occupant travel in the carpool lanes on the state's crowded freeways. Now, the supply of stickers for plug-in hybrids that can travel on battery power alone but also have an engine as backup is close to running out. The green stickers are capped at 40,000, and the California Air Resources Board provides updated reports on how many have been issued. Here's are three tallies over the course of last year: 'As of December 31, 2013, 28,739 "green" stickers have been issued.' 'As of...
-
2014 BMW i3 Gets CA Carpool-Lane Access: Battery Only, So Far
As expected, the 2014 BMW i3 electric car has been awarded its "white sticker," the coveted permission to drive in High-Occupancy Vehicle lanes with only one occupant on California's crowded freeways. The range-extended version of the i3, however, has not yet appeared on the list--and there remains...
John Voelcker -
California Extends Electric-Car HOV Lane Access To 2019
The California Legislature has voted to allow drivers of plug-in cars to cruise the state's High-Occupancy Vehicle lanes solo for another six years.
Stephen Edelstein -
North Carolina To Make Trip-Reduction 'Green' Laws Illegal
Oh, North Carolina: Are you cutting off your nose to spite your face? That's the impression at least some commentators have gained on learning of a state bill that will become law on August 25, with or without the signature of Gov. Pat McCrory. The bill would invalidate Durham County's Commute Trip...
John Voelcker -
GroupCarpool Puts Road-Trippers & Commuters In The Fast Lane
Organizing road trips can be hard. Organizing carpools -- sometimes with complete strangers -- can be even harder. First, there are masses of phone calls, text messages, and emails to sort through. Then, every rider's schedule and personal information has to be entered into a database. Once upon a...
Richard Read -
CA: Electric Cars Get Carpool-Lane Access Til 2020, Plug-In Hybrids Til 2018?
Owners of electric cars and plug-in hybrids enjoy plenty of benefits: tax breaks, lower fuel costs, and the satisfaction that comes from driving a low- or zero-emission vehicle, to name a few. In California, owners also enjoy easier commutes: they can apply for special stickers that allow them to...
Richard Read