Carpool

For some California commuters, cutting down on carbon emissions isn’t a sexy enough reason to buy an electric car. But the ability to bypass freeway traffic without having to carpool — that’s another story.

So there is grumbling in high-occupancy-vehicle lanes across California these days. On Jan. 1, the owners of as many as 220,000 low- and zero-emission vehicles stand to lose the white and green clean-air decals that allow them to drive solo in the diamond lanes.

The decal program was designed to get more clean-air vehicles on state roadways. But it also clogged the lanes, sometimes to the point of gridlock.

So the state Legislature passed a measure last year that significantly limits the number of people eligible for these decals. As of New Year’s Day, drivers who received their clean-air stickers before 2017 will have to buy new vehicles to qualify for the program. And some who earn above a certain amount won’t be eligible for the stickers at all. …

Click here to read the full article from the Los Angeles Times

As reported in the San Diego Union-Tribune:

SACRAMENTO — State lawmakers again this year will debate whether to crack open some of Southern California’s carpool lanes to all drivers before and after rush hours.

Most of the region’s carpool lanes, including stretches on San Diego County’s Interstates 5 and 805, are restricted 24/7 to vehicles with at least two occupants. Not so in Northern California, where the diamond lanes are open to all outside of commute hours, and have been for decades.

Assemblyman Mike Gatto, D-Glendale, introduced AB 210 last week that would require Caltrans to open diamond lanes along portions of state Routes 210 and 134 in Los Angeles County to all drivers during non-commute hours. It would be a pilot program, though Gatto has said he would like to see the change made statewide. …

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