xcel
09-08-2006, 06:12 PM
Proposed expansion will lead to more hybrids on the road and less air pollution. (http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/news/politics/15468978.htm?source=rss&channel=cctimes_politics)
Kiley Russell - Contra Costa Times - Sept. 8, 2006
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/501/2004_HCH-I_in_action.jpg
More hybrids that receive > 45 mpg like the HCH-I will be allowed in CA.'s HOV lanes.
More hybrid electric vehicles will be allowed in the state's car pool lanes under a bill waiting for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's signature.
The bill by Assemblyman Ted Lieu, D-Torrance, would increase the number of car pool permits to 85,000 from 75,000 for the eco-friendly vehicles - even when they carry only one person.
The legislation would also allow hybrid drivers to use the lanes until 2011. Current law forces hybrids back into regular traffic lanes in 2008.
The bill is opposed by some environmentalists and is contrary to a Caltrans report that suggests the HOV lane perk should not be expanded. High gas prices are already encouraging car pools, the report found.
The state's auto dealers aren't convinced either that the car pool program is boosting sales of hybrid vehicles, said Marcella Rojas, spokeswoman for the California Motor Car Dealers Association.
"We haven't seen a bigger impact because of the program," Rojas said. "But with gas at $3 a gallon, hybrids are kind of ruling the roads."
The governor's office declined to comment on the bill, but Lieu expects an endorsement because Schwarzenegger asked him to carry it, said Lieu spokesman David Ford.
Lieu believes that the incentive created by the current hybrid/car pool program and his proposed expansion will lead to more hybrids on the road and less air pollution and will help ease the state's oil and gasoline dependency, Ford said.
"We do know there's been a huge upswing in the sale of hybrid and alternative fuel vehicles," Ford said. "According to the DMV, more than 113,000 hybrid vehicles registered last month, up from 57,136 in July of 2005."
"Obviously the car pool lanes are not the only reasons why people buy hybrids, but we hope it's one more incentive for people to look at those vehicles," he said.
Not all of those hybrids are eligible for the car pool program, however. Eligible vehicles must get at least 45 miles to the gallon; they include the Toyota Prius, the Honda Insight and the Civic Hybrid.
And while there's no evidence that the program is significantly boosting hybrid sales, consumers are excited by it, said Jim Totah, general sales manager at Toyota of Walnut Creek,
"One person in particular has told me that just the fact that he can use the car pool lane has helped his marriage," Totah said.
"He gets home earlier, he's not as grumpy, and I guess he gets to see kids before they're in bed"
The Caltrans report, required under a 2004 law that created the current program, documented mixed results for the hybrid car pool program.
Between April 2005 and April 2006, traffic congestion increased to "unacceptable" levels on 3 percent to 5 percent of the car pool lanes monitored by Caltrans. However, during that same period, traffic flow improved on 3 percent to 4 percent of lanes statewide.
"On any given day, it appears that approximately 10 percent of (car pool) lane-miles will operate under degraded conditions with or without hybrids," according to the report.
Still, as the popularity of hybrids and car pooling rises with gas prices, any program that allows single-occupancy vehicles to use the state's car pool lanes is redundant and could seriously irritate commuters, said Stuart Cohen, executive director of the Transportation and Land Use Coalition.
"The problem is many of our (car pool) lanes are already slowing down to the same speed as the regular lanes," Cohen said. "And at that point, we're deterring people from trying to get out of their cars and form a car pool and get on buses and we may be encouraging people to switch back and drive alone."
Kiley Russell - Contra Costa Times - Sept. 8, 2006
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/501/2004_HCH-I_in_action.jpg
More hybrids that receive > 45 mpg like the HCH-I will be allowed in CA.'s HOV lanes.
More hybrid electric vehicles will be allowed in the state's car pool lanes under a bill waiting for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's signature.
The bill by Assemblyman Ted Lieu, D-Torrance, would increase the number of car pool permits to 85,000 from 75,000 for the eco-friendly vehicles - even when they carry only one person.
The legislation would also allow hybrid drivers to use the lanes until 2011. Current law forces hybrids back into regular traffic lanes in 2008.
The bill is opposed by some environmentalists and is contrary to a Caltrans report that suggests the HOV lane perk should not be expanded. High gas prices are already encouraging car pools, the report found.
The state's auto dealers aren't convinced either that the car pool program is boosting sales of hybrid vehicles, said Marcella Rojas, spokeswoman for the California Motor Car Dealers Association.
"We haven't seen a bigger impact because of the program," Rojas said. "But with gas at $3 a gallon, hybrids are kind of ruling the roads."
The governor's office declined to comment on the bill, but Lieu expects an endorsement because Schwarzenegger asked him to carry it, said Lieu spokesman David Ford.
Lieu believes that the incentive created by the current hybrid/car pool program and his proposed expansion will lead to more hybrids on the road and less air pollution and will help ease the state's oil and gasoline dependency, Ford said.
"We do know there's been a huge upswing in the sale of hybrid and alternative fuel vehicles," Ford said. "According to the DMV, more than 113,000 hybrid vehicles registered last month, up from 57,136 in July of 2005."
"Obviously the car pool lanes are not the only reasons why people buy hybrids, but we hope it's one more incentive for people to look at those vehicles," he said.
Not all of those hybrids are eligible for the car pool program, however. Eligible vehicles must get at least 45 miles to the gallon; they include the Toyota Prius, the Honda Insight and the Civic Hybrid.
And while there's no evidence that the program is significantly boosting hybrid sales, consumers are excited by it, said Jim Totah, general sales manager at Toyota of Walnut Creek,
"One person in particular has told me that just the fact that he can use the car pool lane has helped his marriage," Totah said.
"He gets home earlier, he's not as grumpy, and I guess he gets to see kids before they're in bed"
The Caltrans report, required under a 2004 law that created the current program, documented mixed results for the hybrid car pool program.
Between April 2005 and April 2006, traffic congestion increased to "unacceptable" levels on 3 percent to 5 percent of the car pool lanes monitored by Caltrans. However, during that same period, traffic flow improved on 3 percent to 4 percent of lanes statewide.
"On any given day, it appears that approximately 10 percent of (car pool) lane-miles will operate under degraded conditions with or without hybrids," according to the report.
Still, as the popularity of hybrids and car pooling rises with gas prices, any program that allows single-occupancy vehicles to use the state's car pool lanes is redundant and could seriously irritate commuters, said Stuart Cohen, executive director of the Transportation and Land Use Coalition.
"The problem is many of our (car pool) lanes are already slowing down to the same speed as the regular lanes," Cohen said. "And at that point, we're deterring people from trying to get out of their cars and form a car pool and get on buses and we may be encouraging people to switch back and drive alone."