And so it should.

Just because a car is a hybrid doesn't necessarily mean that it's environmentally friendly. Just because some monster SUV is a hybrid doesn't magically make it an efficient vehicle.

I wouldn't have any problem with them continually revising the HOV lane rules to require better and better milage requirements as the technology improves.

Now it's time to get other municipalities on-board for HOV-lane access!

On a sidenote, after reading the second blog article, I can't help but hope that hybrids never, ever become associated with vegans like that lady who's complaining that people shouldn't eat honey because it's stealing from the bees... Gah.

Dave.

35 mpg hybrid??

i agree, it doesnt have the fuel economy of NON HYBRIDS so why should it receive special allowances?

and besides, 35 mpg is what Ford is saying. as i understand it from a few articles test driving the Escape, real world mileage is not even close to 30.

Thank you, Dave. I have been sying that for so long but no one has agreed with me yet. See my post " Hybrid SUVs are actually a bad thing" under other cars.

Does the bill apply only to cars registered in CA, or can tourists also use the HOV lane?

carpool lanes mean free bridge tolls?

Does this mean the bridge tolls are free, as well? The Golden Gate, for example, is free for carpool lane use during rush hour.

Not sure if this applies, though...

I also agree. If Ford gets it's "we'll see when it hits the road' 36 city /31 highway mpg 2WD Escape hybrid on the HOV lane, then GM will want their 12 mpg Silverado hybrid on there too. "Hey its a hybrid, you are playing favorites, we can't compete". If the dang thing can't get substantially better mpg than a compact, it shouldn't be getting special privileges. In smoggy LA, allowing HOV access should require substantially reduced pollution or reducing the numbers of cars on the road. Both would be better!

From the Ford site

Stealth will not happen except in parking lots. As many here have experienced, the best mileage isn't gained by EV off the line up to the posted limit, except maybe downhill.

Bill requires display of a sticker issued by CA DMV.

An out-of-stater would be unlikely to have one.

There is also a limit on number of stickers authorized -
75000 is last number I saw.

Robert

Go here for Bill Analysis:

http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/bill/asm/ab_..._asm_floor.html

The bill includes the following nugget:

11)Require owners of hybrids vehicles that are registered in the
nine-county Bay Area to obtain Fast Trak bridge toll
transponders and establish automatic vehicle identification
(AVI) accounts if they wish to obtain identifiers from DMV to
allow them to travel in HOV lanes.

I have not used a Bay area bridge in the last five years, and have no intention of starting now. But they want me to pay for a transponder
and set up an AVI account if I want to use HoV lanes anywhere
in California...

Our representatives never fail to amaze me. Even on bills I like.

Robert

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(rmm20\";p=\"36764)</div>

[/b][/quote]Fastrack accounta are free and so are the transponders. You just have to pay an advance of $40 which is charged to your credit/debit card and then the toll amount is deducted each time you cross the bridge. When this amount falls below a certain level, they recharge your card again for around $ 30. Your account is reviewd every 3 months to determine this amount. For hybirds, I assume there will be no deposit as there should be no charge but you will probably need a credit card for a surety , sort of like at a video store. Those without a card or unwilling to use one might have to pay a refundable deposit of $30 or so. This is probably only to identify real hybrids more easily from a distance- the police might have a device to interrogate these transponders to make sure you are in a hybrid.

There is nothing in the bill to indicate this is the reason. It reads much more as a bridge toll protection scheme - they don't want single drivers using the carpool lane to skip paying bridge tolls.

Anyone have information about State Police being able to identify cars by their transponder? I would think range alone would make that impossible.

Robert

Hi Folks,

This is a sure ticket getter for us out-of-state'rs!

Tom & Da Boyz

In the Los Angeles area they have “Movie Star Sightings.†For some Prius owners in the LA area, more important is “Movie Stars in Prius Sightings.â€

Here in the Sacramento area, with the exception of “Governor Arnold Sightings†- which is great fun for most - we tend not to indulge in that socially bankrupt behavior . . . but . . . as a future Prius owner (any day now, #1 on the list) I did get kind of “star struck†when I viewed a Prius heading west out of Sacramento on Interstate 80. Yes, it was like any other Prii - but what piqued my curiosity more than normal was the license plate with a red letter “A†and some numbers. (In California a red A or S signifies a State Assembly or Senate member and the number their district.) COULD IT BE??? IS THAT???? THAT LOOKS LIKE!!! (I googled her picture after the fact) FRAN PAVLEY!!! FRAN!!! FRAN!!!FRAN!!!FRAN!!!

She, if it truly was her, was driving like a normal Californian . . . with the flow of traffic . . . and with a cell phone stuck to her ear. No car pool lane available for her to pre-test her soon to be new law. Sorry, don’t remember what color her ‘04 was . . . but I know it wasn’t a Salsa . . . that would have piqued me to near peeing my pants.

I presume everyone is aware that if / when this law goes into effect in CA, the bill states that hybrid owners cannot obtain the HOV sticker from the DMV "unless the federal government acts to approve the use of HOV lanes by hybrid vehicles regardless of the number of occupants." (This is because the HOV lanes are built with federal money.)

Does anyone know what the status is on the federal side in getting this exemption?

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(yellowhats\";p=\"40898)</div>

The Energy Bill has been introduced as S. 2095. There hasn't been a whole lot of movement on it in Congress.

http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d1...5@@L&summ2=m&

"In the alternative, the U.S. Department of Transportation can grant a waiver to the state. California has requested a waiver, but the DOT has, to date, declined to act on the request. The DOT has granted a limited waiver to the state of Virginia." - LA Car - September 24, 2004

Governator signs hybrid HOV lane bill!

(Another Priuschat thread was started with this announcement but I figured this thread should get the news, just in case posters to this site miss that new thread.)

Ahhnold signed the bill Thursday Sept 23rd.. So now it waits till the Feds approve it.

Since California will vote Democrat on Nov 2nd, does anyone think this will get Federal approval? I know Virginia got approval, but doesn't Virginia tend to go Republican? Does anyone think this might be a factor in the Feds approval process?


Here is an announcement of the signing.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6084375/

What I don't like about this law is that you have to put 3 decals on your car - and two of those have to go on the side panels. You can't put them on the windows, they have to go on paint! I have never put any decals on my cars & don't like the idea at all, even if it gets me in the car pool lanes. Check out the link: ]http://www.dmv.ca.gov/vr/decal.htm]

I'm glad that, at least for a while, I can park in LA for free without the decals.

That is a bad link, here is a good one California Clean Air Vehicle Decals.