We'll be following this bill for some time, so it would be appreciated if this thread could stay on topic. Thanks! (Moderator - can we get this smiley back?)
I'm not sure what I want. It's a double edged sword. One on hand I like the carpool lanes not being as congested as they would be with 45k more cars. On the other, I want the technology to be pushed and no more stickers could kill the momentum this technology is finally gaining.
From californianewswire, Muratsuchi Bill Incentivizing Calif. Alternative Fuel Vehicle Sales Moves Forward SACRAMENTO, Calif. /California Newswire/ — Calif. Assembly Bill (AB) 2013 by Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi (D-Torrance) was approved by the Assembly Transportation Committee yesterday, a promising start for a bill that seeks to increase the cap on Green HOV Stickers from 40,000 to 85,000 as the original number of stickers available to the public dwindles... ...Having garnered unanimous bipartisan approval in the Assembly Transportation Committee, AB 2013 now goes on to the Assembly Appropriations Committee..."
I just talked with someone at Al Muratsuchi's District Office:3460 Torrance Blvd., Suite 306, Torrance, CA 90503 Tel: (310) 316-2164 He said that AB 2013 now goes on to the Assembly Appropriations Committee, and from there to the Assembly, and then on to the Senate - a process which **could** take several months.
Yep, legislative wheels turn slowly. It took a while for the extension from Jan. 2015 to Jan. 2019, remember?
Torrance, huh? I wonder if there's a connection with a certain Japanese automaker that happens to have its US HQ in his district?
So I guess if we have any points to raise to the contrary, we should contact these guys: State Assembly (District 24) Assembly Member Richard S. Gordon-DEM State Senate (District 13) Senator Jerry Hill-DEM who represent Palo Alto, where Tesla's located.
I just handed out sticker #39,112. The bill is stalled, as HOV lane degradation continues upwards to 49% from just 43% a few months back. The DOT will have to come up with some pretty good numbers. It's not just $8 a sticker. That's not what the argument is. It's the positive $ sales tax on all of the cars and continued expectation of their license fees versus the $1500 state funds being handed off. And, you need to know they calculate this carefully. How many are leased? Not as much sales tax is collected in a 36 mo. lease as compared to the $1500 cash handed over. Then you need to consider how many electric and natural gas cars are also expected to use the lanes. If the lanes degrade (traffic wise) to the point of someone who WOULD have bought electric simply does not because they feel it's pointless to NOT pollute if they cannot see a commuting benefit, we're screwed. We have quite a number of cars already made and coming that are white-stickered. Our own Rav4 EV. Tesla. BMW i3. Honda Fit. GM's Spark. Fiat e and Smart electric, to name a few. If these things benefit the state over all, they will weigh this against HOV lane degradation (not the lanes, but the traffic movement in them) and you'll get an answer. I bet you do not get it quickly. IN regards to my own inventory, I have 200+ PlugIns here to see and about 130 are already assigned stickers and we have them, but I also have to wonder what will happen with the other 70 with no pre-ordained HOVs?? In my case for business purposes, I pray they allow more stickers. I love this car, I own this car and I like selling them and making you all great deals. On a personal level, no more green stickers means my own Phev just jumped in value about $5000. That won't matter till I decide to sell it, but I could. I have a Rav4 EV that I use to commute in since last summer with an unlimited mileage lease that's super affordable. I will end this post the way I began. I just handed out sticker # 39,112.
If you assume 3 kw for a full charge...that is $.93 per 12 miles or 7.75 cents/mile. At $4 per gal and 52 mpg that is 7.69 cents per mile. So they are about even. But you are failing to take into account the normal hybrid warm up penalty. When you start with zero miles, the ICE will come on almost immediately and run at every stop you make for the first mile or two, typically before you get on a freeway, etc. Your mpg during this time might be 25 mpg or 35 mpg, etc. So the gas you are replacing isn't always 52 mpg gas, but rather 25 or 35 mpg gas. Your exact situation could be different. For almost everyone which your costs I think it still makes sense to charge at least 10-20 minutes so that you cancel out the warmup penalty. Mike
I just hit 15K total miles on my PIP and in a couple of days will hit 10K EV miles. I wish more cars were this funny. Ha Ha. Mike
I was running about 44% EV on my Prius, and working hard for it. That's why I just got a Volt. 100% EV so far in my first 400 miles. BTW the ARB website just posted: As of March 28, 2014, 38,179 "green" stickers have been issued. So running over 200 per day. Nine more days or so and they will be all gone.
California Runs Out of Clean Vehicle Rebate Funds for ZEVs and Plug-ins - Consumers Buying These Vehicles Will Now Be Added to a Waiting ListThe California Air Resources Board (CARB) will suspend rebates of up to $2,500 under the Clean Vehicle Rebate Program TODAY. Buyers of these vehicles who complete applications will be added to a waiting list for $5 million in additional funding. Eligibility for federal rebates are not affected by this announcement. Beyond the additional $5 million already allocated (which at current sales volume could last for less than 30 days), consumers added to the waiting list likely must await funding to be approved by CARB and as part of the state budget to be adopted this summer. Though we believe that that this program will receive additional funding, there is no guarantee that it will. Potential electric vehicle customers should be made aware of this fact. Rebates from the waiting list won't be paid until late September at the earliest, according to CARB.