California’s Carpool Lane Exemption for EVs Dies This Week

California’s popular carpool lane incentive for electric cars went away on Monday, and drivers caught violating the new rules after a 60-day grace period will face a minimum $490 fine.

As Paul Rogers explains in The Mercury News, “For the past 25 years, federal law has allowed states to decide whether they want to grant carpool-lane access to electric vehicles.” But those permissions expired on September 30, and Congress has not reauthorized the program, forcing California to end its incentive. The state passed a law extending the program, but it can’t take effect without congressional reauthorization.

The change will be a big adjustment for EV drivers who have become used to shaving significant amounts of time off their commutes, some of whom were motivated by the privilege to buy an electric car. “When the program first began, after former Gov. Gray Davis signed AB 71, a law written by former Republican Assemblyman Jim Cunneen of San Jose in 1999, less than 2% of cars on the road were electric. Last year in California, 25.3% of the new vehicles sold were electric, according to the California Energy Commission.”