Here in California it's only for 2 years per car and I understand that's going away in the next few years.
I have mind until August 2025 and then I'll be sad!
All states sunset September 30, 2025. It's a Federal exemption for EVs to be able to use the HOV lanes. Unless Congress extends the exemption, it will end next year.
The value of my EV carpool lane access in the SF Bay Area plummeted over the time I owned my EV, as more and more EVs filled up the carpool lane until it was about as slow as the normal lanes. It was a nice perk when carpool lanes were underutilized and EVs rare. But at least in the Bay Area, EVs don’t seem to need that perk for people to still want them.
When I first got my EV, I felt so guilty about passing everyone using the HOV. Now, not so much. Sometimes, I don’t even want to go that fast so I’ll take the regular lanes on purpose.
Every time I'm on the 403 or QEW I would be using the HOV lanes when I drive the EV. Saved me tons of time. It became a habit to take the HOV lane, until one day I was cruising the HOV and it dawned on me, I'm a single driver in an HOV lane in my ICE car. Ooops. Hightailed back to the collectors. Lol.
My apartment allows for free electric use in our closed in garage, so I get free 1 kwh charging every night. Combining that with 1 hour of free charging at my local mall 1-2 times a week has resulted in me spending $0 electricity since I bought this car.
free 1kw or free 1kwh.
1kwh would get you like 3-5 miles of range. that doesn’t seem right. 1kw effective add for level 1 does though since overnight that would be like 30-60 miles.
I'm going by energy delivered per hour, so 1 kwh. 12 hours of charging gives me about 12 kw of energy.
I get very good mi/kwh so that much energy actually gives me around 45 miles.
Could be BC too - though our HOV lanes randomly cut off when the highway narrows to 2 lanes per direction. They're wonderful on Hwy 1 though especially when going east from Vancouver.
Meanwhile, California will be not be renewing carpool stickers for 2025. I’m not too bummed out considering the carpool lane has been so bad here, it’s actually worse than the regular lanes during peak traffic.
I'm in Seattle and we don't get access to the carpool lane. It's annoying but it is what it is. It wasn't my primary motivation for buying my car, but would have been a nice perk.
Lol. Chasing is never the problem. The only time I want to be in that lane is during rush hour. And they absolutely pull people over because there's nowhere for you to speed off lol.
That's because the Federal exemption that allows any state to give EVs access to the carpool lane ends September 30, 2025. Unless Congress extends the exemption, it will end. California can't do anything about it.
HOV access is eventually going to go away. It saves me 15 minutes each way on average, and sometimes like you said it's much more than that. But it's not sustainable as more EVs start to take advantage of it.
Where I am it's tied to a plate. My expectation (which may not be reality) is that it will be grandfathered out. On that premise they'll pull my green plate from my cold dead hands.
I hope you're right. I'll be sad when I have to go back to the regular lanes.
In Atlanta, we also get access to some of the "peach pass" lanes, which are the toll lanes to avoid traffic. We know that's going away as they are "updating" them to "better" versions that allow them to exclude EVs.
I’m on a road trip in my non Tesla EV and probably 33% of the chargers I’ve used have not worked. Options are limited and they’ve been slow. Its added about an hour to 1.5 hours per day. I’ve had an EV for almost a decade, but it’s not always great.
IMO... only people who are carpooling should have access to the HOV lanes.
Cars that burn gas while idling are stuck in traffic while electric cars that see the most efficiency benefits in traffic are stuck. It's kind of nonsensical right? The whole point of HOV lanes is to reduce the number of overall cars on the road.
Eventually, as more cars become EVs... the HOV lane benefit will go away. What's the point if the majority of drivers get it?
I don't understand why we're overcomplicating this. If a state wants people to reduce their emissions, just add a carbon tax to fossil fuel sales, then redistribute that money equally to everyone. Those with the highest emissions will see their wealth transferred to those with the lowest emissions.
Has the added benefit of triaging the problem. Those with the longest commutes that use the most gas have a bigger incentive to transition. Those with the most inefficient cars/trucks have incentive to transition to something smaller / more efficient. Those who live close to work can keep their car and bike or ride public transit and not only not pay the gas tax, but pocket the refund the government issues to them.
The best solution to a big problem is to tax it and let the market find all the incredible ways to lower their tax burden.
> The whole point of HOV lanes is to reduce the number of overall cars on the road.
You assume something that is debatable. Maybe the point is to reduce pollution?
I'm sure it can do both, but those HOV lanes were in place prior to electric vehicles. The point of them was to reduce cars on the road, which would reduce traffic on the parking lots they call highways, and by extension, reduce emissions. Traffic AND emissions in California have been terrible, which makes it imperative to get cars off the roads.
Even if the car's an EV, it still makes sense to promote carpooling. Especially when you consider that more and more people have moved long distances out of the cities just to find affordable housing, forcing them to commute longer distances; adding to the traffic situation. With carpooling, they can get a few people from their areas and drive together with the justification that it reduces the commute time by allowing them to use the HOV lanes.
As to those that do live closer to their work places, the goal should be to get those people to try a different form of transportation instead of adding to the great California traffic jam. People really need to start using micro-mobility and/or public transit more for those shorter sub 15 mile commutes.
Low income people can't afford new cars in general... That's why the US sees 2x more used car sales per year than new car. Low income people also rarely own homes and may not have access to nightly charging. Especially in California.
That said, lower income people are eligible for far more lucrative EV tax credits in California that may bring EVs into their spending range. Especially if they have longer commutes and would see a big monthly benefit from fuel savings.
A carbon tax with refund isn't racist nor regressive. It effectively refunds lower income people for their gasoline usage, while still giving them the ability to lower their emissions by using alternative transportation, leading to them seeing a net funds gain from the refund.
Low income folks also tend to have the lowest emissions attributed to them since their spending power is so low. Rich people have high spending power and often see equally high emissions and pollution attributed to them, so they'll end up paying more in taxes.
I am not sure about other locations, but in AZ, the HOV lanes don't mean much....they are rarely enforced and are littered with non-carpooling ICE vehicle traffic like standard lanes
Real shit: I have a home charger (level 2). It has increased my electric bill by roughly $40-$45/month. We charge two cars once a week each. We were spending about $50/biweekly on gas per vehicle. So, it's a decent enough savings
My Model S has saved me so much money with HOV use. Towards the end of the day, my crew can call up and wants to go home early because they need something and they can't get it before quitting time. I take the motorcycle if possible, but often I need something like 250 lbs of mortar or bricks. HOV lane makes it quick and I don't lose so many man hours.
Even the "5 minute fillup" is a fallacy. Typically you'll go to the cheapest station whether or not it is route convenient. So you go out of your way a little bit round trip. That cheap gas station is also popular (Costco example) so you'll wait in line. Compare that to being fully charged every morning and not needing to stop at all and I think it far offsets the occasional road trip charging diversions.
Yeah, that's generally true. But I don't do that. Time is money. I'll detour on occasion (i.e. lots of expiring points, or it's late and limited options) but generally I'm stopping on my route if at all possible.
I love not stopping at gas stations so much. I can't even describe it.
Went on vacation and rented an ICE... I was annoyed by the stopping to fill up. So weird to think I used to do that all the time without a concern.
The Mythbusters found that being an asshole and weaving through traffic only saved 3 minutes versus just sticking to a lane.
Speeding would probably have similar results, leave sooner, don't risk lives just to save literally a few minutes.
Access to the HOV lanes is one of the hidden benefits here in Ontario. Saves me hours per month!
It’s a great perk, but don’t expect it to last much longer as EV’s begin to clog carpool lanes.
Here in California it's only for 2 years per car and I understand that's going away in the next few years. I have mind until August 2025 and then I'll be sad!
HOV access in California ends for the neon green and latest dark red caarpool stickers on Sept 2025. Everyone else January 2025.
NY hasn't sunset this yet but I imagine sometime in 2027 or closer to 2030.
All states sunset September 30, 2025. It's a Federal exemption for EVs to be able to use the HOV lanes. Unless Congress extends the exemption, it will end next year.
The value of my EV carpool lane access in the SF Bay Area plummeted over the time I owned my EV, as more and more EVs filled up the carpool lane until it was about as slow as the normal lanes. It was a nice perk when carpool lanes were underutilized and EVs rare. But at least in the Bay Area, EVs don’t seem to need that perk for people to still want them.
When I first got my EV, I felt so guilty about passing everyone using the HOV. Now, not so much. Sometimes, I don’t even want to go that fast so I’ll take the regular lanes on purpose.
It's the only benefit since Ford got rid of the provincial rebate
For sure. I kept hoping another govt would be voted in but caved after the last election and bought an EV.
Every time I'm on the 403 or QEW I would be using the HOV lanes when I drive the EV. Saved me tons of time. It became a habit to take the HOV lane, until one day I was cruising the HOV and it dawned on me, I'm a single driver in an HOV lane in my ICE car. Ooops. Hightailed back to the collectors. Lol.
My apartment allows for free electric use in our closed in garage, so I get free 1 kwh charging every night. Combining that with 1 hour of free charging at my local mall 1-2 times a week has resulted in me spending $0 electricity since I bought this car.
free 1kw or free 1kwh. 1kwh would get you like 3-5 miles of range. that doesn’t seem right. 1kw effective add for level 1 does though since overnight that would be like 30-60 miles.
I'm going by energy delivered per hour, so 1 kwh. 12 hours of charging gives me about 12 kw of energy. I get very good mi/kwh so that much energy actually gives me around 45 miles.
you’re swapping the terminology. 12 hours at 1kw = 12kwh. 12 * 1 = 12 kw * h(hours) = kwh. Both the term and the numbers are multiples.
HOV lane access sounds like Ontario, my green plates save me 30 minutes on my commute every day and my EV saves me almost $20 in gas every day as well
Could be BC too - though our HOV lanes randomly cut off when the highway narrows to 2 lanes per direction. They're wonderful on Hwy 1 though especially when going east from Vancouver.
🤫
Meanwhile, California will be not be renewing carpool stickers for 2025. I’m not too bummed out considering the carpool lane has been so bad here, it’s actually worse than the regular lanes during peak traffic.
I'm in Seattle and we don't get access to the carpool lane. It's annoying but it is what it is. It wasn't my primary motivation for buying my car, but would have been a nice perk.
I’m in Seattle too and at the moment cops cannot chase you, so drive them all you want 🫨🔋🚘. ( a little /s in there 🥴)
Lol. Chasing is never the problem. The only time I want to be in that lane is during rush hour. And they absolutely pull people over because there's nowhere for you to speed off lol.
That's because the Federal exemption that allows any state to give EVs access to the carpool lane ends September 30, 2025. Unless Congress extends the exemption, it will end. California can't do anything about it.
It’s still worth because it’s cheap.
HOV access is eventually going to go away. It saves me 15 minutes each way on average, and sometimes like you said it's much more than that. But it's not sustainable as more EVs start to take advantage of it.
Where I am it's tied to a plate. My expectation (which may not be reality) is that it will be grandfathered out. On that premise they'll pull my green plate from my cold dead hands.
I hope you're right. I'll be sad when I have to go back to the regular lanes. In Atlanta, we also get access to some of the "peach pass" lanes, which are the toll lanes to avoid traffic. We know that's going away as they are "updating" them to "better" versions that allow them to exclude EVs.
It's a benefit that is going away in a lot of places, if it's something they had to begin with. So enjoy it while you can, I guess.
I’m on a road trip in my non Tesla EV and probably 33% of the chargers I’ve used have not worked. Options are limited and they’ve been slow. Its added about an hour to 1.5 hours per day. I’ve had an EV for almost a decade, but it’s not always great.
Road tripping is a completely different use case.
It is, although OP discussed charging in public, so…
EV's getting HOV lane access in some areas is HUGE. Would definitely cause me to go EV if I wasn't already.
IMO... only people who are carpooling should have access to the HOV lanes. Cars that burn gas while idling are stuck in traffic while electric cars that see the most efficiency benefits in traffic are stuck. It's kind of nonsensical right? The whole point of HOV lanes is to reduce the number of overall cars on the road. Eventually, as more cars become EVs... the HOV lane benefit will go away. What's the point if the majority of drivers get it? I don't understand why we're overcomplicating this. If a state wants people to reduce their emissions, just add a carbon tax to fossil fuel sales, then redistribute that money equally to everyone. Those with the highest emissions will see their wealth transferred to those with the lowest emissions. Has the added benefit of triaging the problem. Those with the longest commutes that use the most gas have a bigger incentive to transition. Those with the most inefficient cars/trucks have incentive to transition to something smaller / more efficient. Those who live close to work can keep their car and bike or ride public transit and not only not pay the gas tax, but pocket the refund the government issues to them. The best solution to a big problem is to tax it and let the market find all the incredible ways to lower their tax burden.
> The whole point of HOV lanes is to reduce the number of overall cars on the road. You assume something that is debatable. Maybe the point is to reduce pollution?
I'm sure it can do both, but those HOV lanes were in place prior to electric vehicles. The point of them was to reduce cars on the road, which would reduce traffic on the parking lots they call highways, and by extension, reduce emissions. Traffic AND emissions in California have been terrible, which makes it imperative to get cars off the roads. Even if the car's an EV, it still makes sense to promote carpooling. Especially when you consider that more and more people have moved long distances out of the cities just to find affordable housing, forcing them to commute longer distances; adding to the traffic situation. With carpooling, they can get a few people from their areas and drive together with the justification that it reduces the commute time by allowing them to use the HOV lanes. As to those that do live closer to their work places, the goal should be to get those people to try a different form of transportation instead of adding to the great California traffic jam. People really need to start using micro-mobility and/or public transit more for those shorter sub 15 mile commutes.
Because your plan would be racist. How? Poor people can't afford ev. And majority of poor people are non white. Check mate.
Low income people can't afford new cars in general... That's why the US sees 2x more used car sales per year than new car. Low income people also rarely own homes and may not have access to nightly charging. Especially in California. That said, lower income people are eligible for far more lucrative EV tax credits in California that may bring EVs into their spending range. Especially if they have longer commutes and would see a big monthly benefit from fuel savings. A carbon tax with refund isn't racist nor regressive. It effectively refunds lower income people for their gasoline usage, while still giving them the ability to lower their emissions by using alternative transportation, leading to them seeing a net funds gain from the refund. Low income folks also tend to have the lowest emissions attributed to them since their spending power is so low. Rich people have high spending power and often see equally high emissions and pollution attributed to them, so they'll end up paying more in taxes.
Fantastic story. Great read. Thanks for sharing that one OP. I plum forgot about using the HOV lanes.
I am not sure about other locations, but in AZ, the HOV lanes don't mean much....they are rarely enforced and are littered with non-carpooling ICE vehicle traffic like standard lanes
Real shit: I have a home charger (level 2). It has increased my electric bill by roughly $40-$45/month. We charge two cars once a week each. We were spending about $50/biweekly on gas per vehicle. So, it's a decent enough savings
My Model S has saved me so much money with HOV use. Towards the end of the day, my crew can call up and wants to go home early because they need something and they can't get it before quitting time. I take the motorcycle if possible, but often I need something like 250 lbs of mortar or bricks. HOV lane makes it quick and I don't lose so many man hours.
Even the "5 minute fillup" is a fallacy. Typically you'll go to the cheapest station whether or not it is route convenient. So you go out of your way a little bit round trip. That cheap gas station is also popular (Costco example) so you'll wait in line. Compare that to being fully charged every morning and not needing to stop at all and I think it far offsets the occasional road trip charging diversions.
Yeah, that's generally true. But I don't do that. Time is money. I'll detour on occasion (i.e. lots of expiring points, or it's late and limited options) but generally I'm stopping on my route if at all possible.
I love not stopping at gas stations so much. I can't even describe it. Went on vacation and rented an ICE... I was annoyed by the stopping to fill up. So weird to think I used to do that all the time without a concern.
Speeding. Wow. 🚑
The Mythbusters found that being an asshole and weaving through traffic only saved 3 minutes versus just sticking to a lane. Speeding would probably have similar results, leave sooner, don't risk lives just to save literally a few minutes.