Solo in a Hybrid? Merge Left
Motorists who drive solo in fuel-efficient hybrid vehicles will gain access to carpool lanes in California under a massive transportation bill approved by Congress on Friday that includes billions of dollars for projects statewide.
The $286.5-billion bill, the first major transportation funding measure since 1998, cleared the House and Senate by large bipartisan votes. California will receive roughly $23 billion for highway projects -- a return of about 92 cents for every dollar in gas taxes the state sends to Washington.
By granting carpool privileges to fuel-efficient hybrids across the nation, the spending bill authorizes California to implement legislation that has been on hold since Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed it eight months ago.
The federal government gets a say in who can use carpool lanes because it provides most of the money to build them.
"The federal transportation bill is a great victory for California," Schwarzenegger said. "The legislation contains much-needed funding that complements state and local efforts to improve our transportation system."
The California law, which expires in 2008, grants carpool access to hybrids that are the cleanest running in their class and get at least 45 miles to the gallon. Smaller hybrids such as the Toyota Prius and Honda Insight qualify, while larger SUV models might not.
Hybrid owners must obtain a special sticker from the Department of Motor Vehicles before using carpool lanes.
Supporters of the change believe it will encourage the use of the energy-efficient vehicles and reduce reliance on foreign oil. But critics, including some traffic engineers, fear the new rules will clog carpool lanes without providing much benefit. They note that sales of hybrids are already brisk without added incentives.
Randall Halcomb, co-editor of Autoblog.com, an automotive consumer website, has been critical of efforts to ease carpool restrictions to accommodate more hybrids, which, he said, might not be any more fuel efficient than a conventional car.
"You can have one person in a hybrid and two people in a regular car that gets 30 miles per gallon, and essentially they have the same fuel efficiency," Halcomb said. "In many cases, this kind of law is a knee-jerk reaction to give the appearance of greenness. But you're no better off than driving a regular economy car."
