High-Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lane
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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 buyers could add the crucial green sticker to their Volts. Now, it appears that the new 2016 Chevy Volt plug-in hybrid will get access to California's HOV lanes as well. DON'T MISS: 2016 Chevrolet Volt Priced From $33,995, Or $1,175 Lower Than 2015 Volt It would only stand to reason that the all-new...
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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 -
CA Carpool-Lane Stickers For Plug-In Hybrids Run Out By May--Or Sooner
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...
John Voelcker -
CA Drivers Want Carpool-Lane Access, Honda Gives It To Them (But There's A Catch)
Say "carpool lane" or "HOV Access" or "white sticker" or "green sticker," and most California commuters will begin to drool uncontrollably. The ability to drive in relatively uncrowded High-Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes with just a single person in the vehicle is a privilege that Californians will...
John Voelcker -
Chevy Volt To Qualify For California HOV-Lane Access In 2012
Chevrolet announced today at the Los Angeles Auto Show that its Volt extended-range electric car will qualify for solo access to California's HOV lanes, a feature deeply desired by many of the state's car buyers. A 'Low Emissions Package' will be fitted as standard equipment to all Volts sold in...
John Voelcker -
Loss Of California HOV-Lane 'Prius Perk' Slows All Traffic, Study Says
Many California drivers silently cheered on July 1, when the yellow stickers on 85,000 hybrid cars expired--meaning their drivers were no longer allowed to travel solo in the carpool lane. According to a new study released Monday at the University of California-Berkeley, though the loss of the...
John Voelcker -
Despite wrangling among electric-car fans over whether the 2012 Toyota Prius Plug-In Hybrid's 9 to 14 miles of electric range are sufficient, one factor will make the car a success, at least in California: the valued sticker that gives drivers solo access to the HOV lane.
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Electric-Car Owners To Lose If CA Carpool Lanes Get Tolls?
State and local agencies are strapped for cash, and one source of income may be the high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes on congested freeways. In Southern California, local officials plan to convert "carpool lanes" to toll lanes with variable pricing, allowing drivers to pay up to $10 for the...
John Voelcker -
CA To Hybrid Drivers: Sorry, We're Just Not That Into You--Any More
Spare a thought, if you will, a momentary tear, for 85,000 doomed drivers of three models of hybrid car in California. They are the unlucky losers of a privilege that saved them time, raised the value of their vehicle, and undoubtedly increased their karmic contentment, all because of a set of tiny...
John Voelcker -
Would You Pay $10 A Day To Cut Your Commute By 35 Minutes?
How much is your time worth? If you live in southern California and drive to work, the answer for some of you seems to be more than $17 an hour. That conclusion is drawn from data contained in an Infrastrurist interview with Jack Finn, the head of toll services for HTNB, an infrastructure firm that...
John Voelcker