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PiP Eligible for Ca HOV/HOT Lanes

Discussion in 'Gen 1 Prius Plug-in 2012-2015' started by rogerv, Sep 29, 2012.

  1. rogerv

    rogerv Senior Member

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    According to an AP article in The Ventura County Star, Govenor Brown signed into law on Friday AB2405, which will allow plug-in hybrids to use carpool lanes for free if those lanes are converted to high-occupancy toll lanes. This is being done in Los Angeles County on a test basis with a pilot project involving the 10 and 110 freeways, and also on some freeways in the San Francisco Bay area. The plan in LA calls for varying tolls based on time of day and traffic load, but this new law could mean substantial savings for PiP owners commuting alone at peak traffic hours.
     
  2. Jetsurgn

    Jetsurgn Junior Member

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    I think the value of the pip just went up with this bill being signed in california.
     
  3. chesleyn

    chesleyn Active Member

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    STOP THE PRESSES

    This is major news.. This fall the 110 Harbor Freeway is being converted to HOT. So when will we know if we get access.
    As far as I had read, we will not get free access for the "trial" period on the HOT lanes. We will need to pay the toll just as everyone else. Can you please expand rogerv and share some links for more info?
     
  4. chesleyn

    chesleyn Active Member

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    SB 535 also specified that low-emission vehicles with valid
    stickers are not exempt from paying tolls on HOT lanes on State
    Highways 10 and 110 in Los Angeles. At the time, Los Angeles
    County Metropolitan Transportation Authority expressed concern
    that granting access to drivers of these vehicles could congest
    the lanes enough to jeopardize federal funding for the projects.


    This bill exempts vehicles with green and white stickers from
    toll charges that single-occupant vehicles pay to access HOT
    lanes. This exemption does not apply to HOT lanes on State
    Highway 110 in Los Angeles until after November 1, 2013, nor
    does the exemption apply to HOT lanes on State Highway 10 in Los
    Angeles until after March 1, 2014.




    From AB 2405 Assembly Bill - Bill Analysis
     
  5. CharlesH

    CharlesH CA HOV Decal #5 on former PiP

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    It almost seems like a racket to raise revenue by making the rules concerning who is exempt in various HOT/HOV lanes so complex that they are sure to generate lots of hefty $400+ fines. If one comes across a HOT lane, one is responsible for knowing under what program it was funded and if HOV stickers (furthermore possibly distinguishing the green and white ones) are exempt under that particular program. Like in the San Francisco Bay Area under the old yellow sticker program: For a while until the law was changed, diamond lanes on county-funded expressways were not open to yellow stickers, since the law for the yellow stickers specified only state and federal roads. So it was your responsibility to know that a particular carpool lane was on a county expressway and thus the yellow stickers were not valid (note that we are not talking about rural roads here; these expressways are in the middle of the cities).
     
  6. rogerv

    rogerv Senior Member

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    Here's a copy of the article I mentioned in my opening post. No mention of time limits on the LA freeways 110 and 10.

    SACRAMENTO, Calif.ā€”SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) -Gov. Jerry Brown announced Friday that he signed a bill that will allow the next generation of clean-energy vehicles to access California carpool lanes for free if they are converted to toll lanes.
    San Francisco, Los Angeles, Riverside and San Diego are experimenting with high-occupancy toll lanes - or HOT lanes - to help reduce congestion.
    Brown signed AB2405 by Assemblyman Bob Blumenfield, D-Woodland Hills, which seeks to encourage Californians to buy plug-in hybrids and certified zero-emission vehicles, such as those that run on electricity, hydrogen fuel cells or compressed natural gas.
    Access to carpool lanes for solo drivers of hybrid vehicles, which run on gasoline and batteries, was phased out last year.
    The Department of Motor Vehicles issues stickers to designate qualified clean air vehicles that grant solo drivers access to existing carpool lanes.
    As of May, the DMV issued about 19,000 white stickers for certified zero-emission vehicles and about 100 green stickers for plug-in hybrid cars.
    There is no cap on the number of white stickers while there is a limit of 40,000 green stickers.
    Yellow stickers for hybrid cars are no longer valid.
    Currently there are just a handful of HOT lanes in California, including a 14-mile stretch of southbound Interstate 680 in Alameda and Santa Clara counties, and a 20-mile stretch of Interstate 15 in San Diego County.
    The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority is testing a pilot project of HOT lanes on interstates 10 and 110. And the San Francisco Bay area's Metropolitan Transportation Commission is developing a regional HOT network.
    ___
     
  7. CharlesH

    CharlesH CA HOV Decal #5 on former PiP

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    The HOT lane on I-680 S in Alameda and Santa Clara county is exempt with the green and white stickers under the existing law. But isn't in the new HOT lane on the 110 in LA, but will be under the new law, but perhaps not until a "trial" period has passed. Totally a confusing mess o_O

    Why can't they just say that the green and white sticker is equivalent to having a carpool, so one pays whatever (if anything) a carpool pays?:mad:
     
  8. rogerv

    rogerv Senior Member

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    I agree, it is indeed confusing. Seems like at least some of our legislators are lawyers, and they can't seem to put things in plain, simple English. Try Googling AB2405, and read the text of the amended law. I think I found the part that Chesleyn referred to with regard to the trial period, but it was shown as a change in the vehicle code, and contained so many paragraph and section references that I gave up trying to understand what it all meant. Apparently the AP's Judy Lin either felt the same way, or else decided it didn't apply to those of us with PiPs. Fortunately, I rarely travel either of the LA freeways mentioned. As I read elsewhere, we would still have to have the transponder and an account, which costs $3 per month, plus an initial refundable deposit of $32 if bought at an Auto Club office, $40 otherwise.
     
  9. The Craw

    The Craw New Member

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    Picked up transponder at AAA today. If pay w/credit card there is no deposit. You get $40 toll credit but pay AAA only $32. I enrolled on line and now ready for Nov 10th.
     
  10. rogerv

    rogerv Senior Member

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    OK, I was misremembering what I had read, so I guess the deposit is for cash customers. Thanks for clarifying. Now the question remains, as Chesleyn wrote, are they going to charge you for using the lane, or go by your green sticker status? As I understand it, the driver has to use a switch on the transponder to indicate qualifying for carpool rate (free) or driver only rates. And how does the CHP know which one you have indicated?:confused: The article I posted doesn't mention the transponders at all. Go figure....
     
  11. chesleyn

    chesleyn Active Member

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    From what I have read, they will have video cameras monitoring the 110 HOT. If you indicate you have HOV status and you have less than the required occupants, they will send you a fine and charge you the fee.
     
  12. CharlesH

    CharlesH CA HOV Decal #5 on former PiP

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    How exactly are they going to see a car seat with an infant or small child secured in the back seat of the car? Or on the flip side, some wise-guy who puts a realistic mannequin in the passenger seat? Here in Northern California, enforcement of the carpool status is by visual inspection by a patrolman who pulls you over if you appear to not have the required occupancy. If there is no patrolman, you get away with it that time.
     
  13. chesleyn

    chesleyn Active Member

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    That might be what they will do. I had seen on their website that they are doing a combination of video and patrol units.

    I know if you don't have the transponder, you automatically get mailed the ticket.

    If they are doing it like they do on the 91 freeway between Riverside and LA, then I've seen it a million times where a solo occupant drives the HOV lane at the pay collector to avoid paying the toll.
     
  14. wjtracy

    wjtracy Senior Member

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    ...interesting VA is building HOT lanes ...Capital Beltway HOT lanes on I495 in VA opens soon.
    Its going to be interesting to see how it works.
     
  15. The Craw

    The Craw New Member

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    The monthly $3 account maintenance fee for each transponder is waved if you use a HOT lane 4 times in a month. My driving needs are such that I would have enough toll-free 2 passenger trips per month to not have to worry about the $3. But if you would rarely use the 110/10 fwy HOT lanes you have to ask yourself if you want to pay $36 a year just to have the transponder.

    I travel the 110 everyday usually off peak and stay out of the HOV lane to avoid burning excessive gas at 75 mph. But if I'm running late for an appointment and the traffic is congested I have no option to use the HOT lane if I don't have a transponder. I paid quite a bit to Toyota to be able to get a "solo in the HOV lane" green sticker. Since Metro forces me to spend additional money for 110/10 fwy HOT lane SOV access, it is, in principal, pretty much more of the same - pay to play.

    My understanding is that dispite AB2405, Metro still requires cars with green or white stickers in the 110/10 fwys HOT lanes to:
    1) use a FasTrakĀ® transponder set to the correct number of occupants
    2) pay the toll if solo in the HOT lanes
     
  16. Ryantb

    Ryantb New Member

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    Everyone who is upset that the MTA is banning your EV from the carpool lanes should go to the FB page for Metro Express Lanes and let them know.
    Metro ExpressLanes - Los Angeles, CA - Public Transportation, Government Organization | Facebook


    Here is text you can use if you want:
    I understand your reasoning in banning my White-Stickered EV from free use of the new carpool lanes on the 10 and 110 freeway, but I strongly disagree. I purchased my vehicle so I could use these lanes as the State had promised me. Your action will have a direct, negative impact on my daily life. As such, though I may have supported the idea of a toll lane, this action will result in my becoming an active and vocal opponent. I plead with you to reconsider, for both my sake and the future success of your program. Banning EVs from these lanes will only result in public anger at the entire project, leading ultimately to it's demise.

    Thanks all!
     
  17. core104

    core104 New Member

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    Here is text you can use if you want:
    I understand your reasoning in banning my White-Stickered EV from free use of the new carpool lanes on the 10 and 110 freeway, but I strongly disagree. I purchased my vehicle so I could use these lanes as the State had promised me. Your action will have a direct, negative impact on my daily life. As such, though I may have supported the idea of a toll lane, this action will result in my becoming an active and vocal opponent. I plead with you to reconsider, for both my sake and the future success of your program. Banning EVs from these lanes will only result in public anger at the entire project, leading ultimately to it's demise.

    Thanks all!
    [/quote]


    Not that I want to be a schoolmarm here, but I think you would need to clear up several errors of diction before we would consider cutting and pasting your paragraph. Plus, a stronger argument would also help. I would stress that banning white and green sticker vehicles cannibalizes the incentive behind another state-funded program.
     
  18. PriusC_Commuter

    PriusC_Commuter Active Member

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    So, are we good to use the 110 HOT lanes now? Do we still need a transponder? Will we have to pay the $3 monthly fee?
     
  19. vajratlr

    vajratlr Member

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    I'd like to know the latest as well as I frequently use the 10. But I believe it won't go into effect until March.
    And if you didn't know already, the $3 monthly fee is waived for L.A. county residents.
     
  20. PriusC_Commuter

    PriusC_Commuter Active Member

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    I'm not in LA county so I don't think it's waived for me. I called the Metro ExpressLanes phone number but no one seemed to know anything. I wonder if Dianne or anyone here can shine some light on the 110 and 10 HOT lanes. It seems no one at the call center had any clue what would happen when the experimental phase finishes.