Alternate Fuel Plate progress?

This belongs in the Main Forum, not with the clubs. I made the same mistake as a rookie.

Not fatal, but your question will attraxct far less traffic on this forum.

 

Hybrids are not alternate-fuel vehicles and I've never heard of any state giving out such plates for them. Pure-electric cars qualify, as does the Civic GX (CNG).

 

The last I heard they were still opposed to it. There are more and more hybrids being registered so the HOV lane would be clogged and not provide help for anyone.
A pure electric vehicle can still use it any time. EVbones.com in Mesa sells the GM S-10 electric with NiMH (hybrid type) batteries good for 7-10 years with a range of 100 miles on a charge. There are even a few free charging staions still in the valley.
Jim

 

Big, giant sigh...

AZ state law says hybrid can recieve alt fuel plates and/or stickers and, upon approval from congress, travel in the HOV lane with one ocupant. Interestingly, the way the law is written, the plates and HOV travel are completly seperate. We should be able to get the plates right now, just not use them in the HOV lane yet. Currently, the DMV is pretending the law dosen't exist, or got overruled by their procedure. (I like that one. DMV procedure trumping state law.) I queried the govenor's office and was first told hybrids are not alt fuel and don't count. I sent back the text of the law as well as the part of the Highway Bill that gives approval and was told that until the EPA declares which hybrids meet the standards in the Highway bill (and thay have six months from the date the bill became law), Arizona wasn't going to give hybrids the plates.

P.S. The plates are worth a lot more to me then the HOV pass, as the plates would let you register your car for about a tenth of the regular fees.

 

All I know is I do not drive an Alternative Fuel Vehicle (AFV);
I drive a Prius.

All that goes in my tank is gasoline - with maybe a little Ethanol added.

This is California.

After seeing the subsequent post with the Arizona statute, I have to add
Arizona is really different... We should never make the mistake of
applying Logic to Statutes.

For the sake of our kids, I hope we finally get a statute defining Pi as 3.

Robert

 

Here ya go...
Arizona statutes can be found at http://www.azleg.state.az.us/
Congresional bills cen be seen at http://thomas.loc.gov

28-2416
28-737

H.R.3


I find ARS 28-2416 B and C particularly interesting. It specifically says hybrid owners can apply for alt fuel plates, and then that the DMV SHALL (not might, should, maybe, if they feel like it!!!) issue those alt fuel plates if the car meets set conditions. Please, please, please, if you get somebody on high to follow the law, tell us all who and where. HOV lanes are important to me, but the alt fuel plates are much more so. (They make the difference in paying tens of dollars instead of hundreds of dollars to register every year.)

I've tried to highlight all the pertinent sections in green.

 

Has anyone done the math to see if the HOV lanes really reduce pollution or save resources? Seems to me that using Elang B or C calculations could tell us if reducing commute times for the 95% of cars not using the HOV lane would yield more savings than allowing 5% of the cars to fly past them. Seems to me the road to better resource usage and lower pollution might be to scrap the 25 year old failed "carpool lane" experiment and provide a faster, cleaner, shorter commute to the vehicles of today, all of which are much greener than those found in 1975.

 

Arizona Senator Vershoor is the chairperson for the Senate Transportation Committee. She along with her committe members will likely need to make the ultimate call. THEN we can revisit this with ADOT/MVD.

Letter to the good senator follows:

=================



In September I purchased a 2005 Toyota Prius after learning it is one of the cleanest and most fuel efficient vehicles available on the market today. While in California, I noticed that Hybrid vehicles were classified as Alternative Fuel Vehicles and as such were afforded certain privileges with respect to tag fees and HOV lanes. After research the “rules†in Arizona for this matter, I found ARS 28-737 and its definitions of, and provisions for Hybrid vehicles in Arizona. After spending a few hours at the DMV today, to request my Alternative Fuel plates, I was told Hybrids do not qualify despite specific language in ARS 28-737 to the contrary. I was shown an internal memo from Sharon Thompson at the ADOT Motor Vehicle Division, stating that “existing Federal rules currently preclude Arizona and other states from permitting hybrid vehicles to use HOV lanes with a single occupant.†This memo was dated April 10, 2002. As we both know, a lot has changed since 2002. Hybrid vehicles are better than ever in terms of emissions and fuel economy. Sales of these vehicles are soaring as our nation has endured a massive energy crisis with gasoline prices shooting through the roof. When I bought the Prius, gasoline was above $3.50/gal and had no signs of slowing.



Well, I just learned that the Energy bill that President Bush signed earlier this year, which was the catalyst for the enactment of California statute AB 2628 nearly four months ago. Perhaps the senior management at ADOT has yet to consider the changes made at a federal level and will revisit their position on Hybrids in Arizona. When I asked my local DMV supervisor, he suggested I contact my legislators. Is it possible to update the language in ARS 28-737 to reflect the updates in Federal laws as they relate to this statute? I doubt the federal bill was written solely for the benefit of our neighbors in California. As the Chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee, I hope your committee will look into this and get back to me with some good news J

Your constituent,

Bill Fencken
Arizonan since 1960
Toyota Prius owner since 2005

 

hey bill... we're in the same boat. i'm in tempe and have been waiting oh so patiently for AF plates since my prius arrived last may...

i made several phone calls and wrote a few letters to mvd senior staff members and finally got a letter back in september or so... they said they were waiting for the EPA to issue the ruling defining "fuel efficient" and "low emission" vehicles.

i think pres bush gave the EPA six mos to issue the ruling, which would be january or february, then we wait our MVD to implement - hopefully.

good luck w/ thayer verschoor - he (not she, btw) is a little right of pat buchanan, and is light rail's biggest opponent, so i will be pleasantly surprised if he's of any help with this issue.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(phxprius @ Oct 11 2005, 12:27 PM) [snapback]139516[/snapback]</div>

plan of action:
please call/ contact governors office and MVD. Email or snailmail. Request or petition for the 3 hybrids(civic, insight, prius) be registered using the same fomula as ALT vehicles. VLT=1% of msrp times $4.00 for every$100.00 of determinted value( see MVD site for exactness).
As it stands, yes there is a pending MVD pilot program (instead of waiting for EPA, AZ MVD has asked the FHA to approve a pilot program for three hybrids, the prius is one, to have access to the HOV lane) to grant AFV plates/sticker for hybrids. This pilot program will only apply to HOV usage. If you want the MVD to consider applying the AFV registration formula, which is a considerable savings, Please contact the MVD with an e-mail or a letter requesting this. AZ MVD, attn: Eileen Colleran, 206 S. 17th Ave., Mail Drop 140A, PHX, AZ 85007. If you can , please also ask the governor's office to weigh in. I've asked for their position and hopefully, will have the governor request MVD to apply the AFV registration formula.
Thanks All!

 

Georgia

Georgia law allows hybrids into HOV lanes, but the state bureacracy has dragged its feet in implementing it. This web site link has a good summary of where things stand officially: http://www.dot.state.ga.us/specialsubjects/hov/hov-afv.shtml

Georgia law allowing hybrids to get "Alternative Fueled Vehicle" license plates (aka tags) and to drive in HOV lanes is at Georgia Code Section 32-9-4 (allowing use of Georgia’s HOV lanes by certain hybrids if such use of HOV lanes is permitted by Federal law), and Section 40-2-76 (specifying the issuance of license plates for hybrid vehicles for such use).

Georgia's Department of Natural Resources has taken the position that they must wait for the U.S. E.P.A. to conduct a rule making and issue a list of vehicles. However, this position is belied by the fact that other states have already proceeded to enable HOV access. Florida is one example – right next door. A year ago already Florida issued its list of approved vehicles and implemented their program (using vehicle stickers). You can view it at http://www.hsmv.state.fl.us/html/titlinf.html I brought this to the attention of William Cook, who is in charge of this issue at Georgia DNR’s Environmental Protection Division (404- 363-7028), almost a year ago. Yet as I understand it they have NOT followed Florida’s example and moved this thing forward.

Why Florida has moved forward smoothly on this issue, while Georgia’s state agencies are frozen on this and flouting Georgia law?

Call Mr. Cook and complain. Also contact Judy Reynolds at Governor Purdue's office (who handles DNR matters) and complain -- 404-656-1776.