Say Goodbye to California HOV Lanes in 2011

Have you thought about installing Honda's "Phil" unit at your garage for CNG?
If I had a CNG Civic, I would definitely install one. Some city has rebate for such installation.

 

It still bothers me that hybrids are considered to be a clog of the HOV lanes.

The more hybrids on the road, the less pollution. Bumper-to-bumper traffic jams of hybrids HAS to be a better deal pollution-wise than regular cars. If those jams are now occurring in the HOV lanes, too darn bad I say. They weren't built for SPEED.

Folks who drive Hummers, and carry a few token extra passngers to zip down the HOV lanes, that cried foul over a single-occupant Prius being in front of them, get bills passed to be able to pollute at high speed again? What the heck?...

 

Why?
Seems like that's the reason that they are removing the hybrid from the HOV... In 2007 Toyota sold 181,221 Prii. That doesn't include the other "hybrids."
In 2007 there were 91,417 Hybrids registered in California. 91 THOUSAND!!! If 11% of those registered were able to get HOV stickers, that's ~10000 more vehicles in the "HOV" lane. Flawed as can be!

Humm... I'll let you slide on this one even though it's flawed too.

BBBBZZZT! Wrong answer! They were built for speed and occupancy. More people moving faster than the average flow of traffic.

Or maybe even non-self Prius drivers cried the same thing.

HOT lanes are much more likely to succeed and cause less outcry from one side of the nut-patch than the other.

When I had my Prius I could barely get anyone to ride in the back seats because it was too damned uncomfortable. So, that leaves maybe one or two occupants in a fuel-motorized vehicle in the HOV lane. I could have had four if I had a bigger or at least a more comfortable car.

 

The true purpose of HOV lanes is to reduce vehicle emissions. The state takes a credit in their State Implementation Plan with the EPA for the lanes.

The upside to the driver/passengers is that they get a (hopefully) traffic-free lane and can travel at a higher speed than normal traffic. But that is not the true goal of the lane.

 

Hmm - I always thought the HOV lanes were built to encourage people to carpool, thus taking cars off the road and reducing pollution. That is why the Hybrid drivers were given carpool lane access - hybrids also achieve the goal of reducing pollution. But I guess I stand corrected - carpool lanes were built to allow people to travel faster.:doh:

I used to have an BMW M5 that I sold to get the Prius. The Prius has way more passenger room in the back than the M5 did. I guess the 550 must have rectified that? The M5 was an awesome car and very luxurious - but still - more room in the back in the Prius (now the front seats are an entirely different matter).

 

There is no better way to reduce pollution than to encourage the use of public transportation. Personally I think HOV lanes should be restricted to buses and Park-N-Ride shuttles. Wouldn't it be great if public transit was the fastest way to get to work?

 

Well, I based that from the bureaucracy of the definition of HOV... which is high occupancy with the benefit of getting more people through traffic. Doesn't really matter what you do it in, as long as you do it!

I ride my bike to work when I can...

OT. But I'll be back in the same boat when the plugin's are widely available. Or when someone makes an EV that doesn't have a cheap interrior. Yes, the backseats in the e60 have more passenger room than the Prius. It does not, will not, and seemingly never will, be able to hold as much stuff as the Prius did though!

 

+1 !!!!!!!

 

Hi All,

Maybe supporting an elimitation of HOV lanes in 2011 is the solution. That way, the HOV super-speedway safety issue is eliminated and the rest of the lanes will move more smoothly. Traffic is highly non-linear. Add some capacity, and the rest of the traffic may flow, resulting in standard cars getting so much better fuel economy, that polution would be reduced...

 

Oh, whew. Just gasoline cars. I'm OK with that. ZEVs still get a pass. Personally I think that HOV lanes should be for the exclusive use of... HOVs. I'd rather see carpools than hybrids. Better would be hybrid carpools. Better than that would be ZEV carpools. Really, it turns out that hybrids are NOT being kicked out of the lanes. Only the single-occupant ones.

I guess it is all in your perspective. If there are more gasoline hybrids at the expense of bicycles, no. If more single-occupancy gasoline hybrids than SULEV carpools, then no. If there are more gasoline hybrids than EVs or CNG's then no. Not quite as simple as "add hybrids, lower pollution." How about if we have two single-occupant hybrids on the road instead of one with two people in it. Is the "more" answer still less polluting?

Though I agree with the sentiment, I have to take you to task on this as well. I commute by bike. And I'm not only faster than public transportatoin - I'm less polluting and cheaper.

 

You are less polluting but I don't know about cheaper. If I recall you have a collection of pretty expensive bikes. I think I could ride the bus for 3 years for what my wife's road bike cost and it was a rather inexpensive bike. Add in the jersey, shoes, and clipless pedals, bike computer, etc and you have another year of riding the bus.

Of course it would be even less polluting if you just worked from home instead of commuting.

 

If the situation remains the early Prius/Hybrid adopters that are in the HOV lane, then it does seem like there should be an eventual sunset on that privilege. There are many more Prius and hybrid owners on the road now than there were back when this sticker was a "perk" for being an early adopter, and it seems unfair that only the early adopters are the "lucky" ones.

Allowing alternative entry to HOV lanes is in reality defeating the purpose of those lanes. This includes those paying a toll as well as those entering the lanes as a result of the earlier "perks".

Since it seems that California will soon have more gasoline than water, however, it probably won't matter what is decided.

 

Did you really own a Prius or are you making this up as you go along?
I've never heard of this uncomfortable back seat? There is more leg room in the back seat of a Prius than almost any car I can think of. What do your friends want? 4 in a Prius is easy and comfortable, 5 is a squeeze but 4 is a breeze.

 

Of course! However these lanes are funded by taxpayers, many of whom don't like seeing a wide-open lane next to them while sitting in traffic. NJ had HOV lanes on 287 for less than a year before they were converted to normal lanes, due to public outrage.

 

Oops. Busted. ;

One thing to consider is the fact that my bikes are not subsidized, and most mass transportation is. We need to level the playing field a bit if we really want to talk finances. And also take into account the "cost" of pollution that we get even from mass transportation.

Ha! I do. Most people assume that "commute" means "to work." Not the case in my situation. My regular commute is by bike, but I work at home.

In the end, I probably should not have brought up cost, of course. I determined long ago that it is cheaper (in the short term and as long as I only count my direct out of pocket expenses) to drive either of my cars (EV or Prius) than it is to bicycle. But in the long run the bicycle is better in every metric. Just takes too long to do the math.

My bad for bringin up cost. Fewer and fewer of my decisions are based on cost these days. We screw ourselves in the long run if cost is the primary deciding factor.

Oh, and just to bring this mildly back on subject, I'd like to point out that I'm often a bicycling HOV as well.

 

Wow, you must have a large home if you need to use a bike to cycle between the rooms!

 

You've got me very curious about what this means??

 

Just to be clear, I bought a 2009 a few months back, and I am not eligible for a HOV sticker, or there are no more left to be had for prius in California?

 

I'm retiring in July, so my 90 mile a day commute will be a thing of the past. I have the HOV stickers, but found that by adjusting my work starting time by 1/2 hour, the HOV hardly matters. If there is some unusual stoppage, I jump in them, but most mornings (eastbound 118/210 from SFV thru Pasadena to Azusa, CA) they are empty except for speeding SUVs. I'd rather putt along at 70 and get more mpgs, that trying to dodge the flying SUVs at 80+. Your drive may be different. The thing I will miss most about retiring is not the HOVs, but the 2 hrs of Audiobooks that I get to enjoy!