Has anyone received a CA Green HOV Sticker yet?

Sounds like the sticker would be pretty valuable to you. If I were you, I'd send in the app and hope the competing apps didn't do their job as well as they should have. (I'd feel pretty silly if there was a chance I could've gotten in and didn't take it.)

Speaking on legislation, it seems there was just enough borderline support to push it through but someone tacked on an extra rider hoping to sneak it in with the legislation and that helped to tip the scales back against it both times.

I personally think if they scaled it back to an additional 20k greens, they could definitely get it through. The prior attempts were for more than doubling the current 40k limit.

 

SoCal seems to still have plenty. I believe Dianne still has some. Just looking through last weekends OCRegister print ads, Toyota of Orange had 29 left as of the beginning of the weekend, and Ken Grody Ford had 39 available. I drove by a Chevy of Irvine about a week or two ago and pretty much every Volt I saw while driving by had the stickers already on the cars, but I don't have any exact numbers.

Source:
OCRegister.com - OC Shopping - Automotive

 

Right. My bad. I read too fast, and thought it referred to being out of green stickers, because the numbers don't add up.For example:

They're turning applications around in less than 10 days. They posted on April 28 that they have issued 641 stickers less than the limit. They're issuing them at a rate of about 250 per week. Those numbers don't add up to having more applications than stickers.

But I guess we'll find out soon enough.

On the subject of AB2013, I wonder how enthusiastic its sponsor, the assemblyman from Torrance, will be after today's announcement that Toyota is moving its US headquarters and 3,000 jobs from his district to Texas.

 

Curious, is there a way to contact the DMV directly to check on the status of a replacement or new Green Sticker application? Looking for a phone number to call. Thanks!

 

I called (855) 230-8747.

 

If you're in Northern California, you can also focus on the fact that a plug-in is dirt cheap compared to a regular Prius, because TFS is giving $4k off + 0% APR and you get another $4k back from the state and IRS, which brings the base model down to $22k, significantly cheaper than a comparable Prius III hatchback.

 

I have a lot of Bay area/San Jose/Marin county folks telling me they are being quoted OVER the MSRP for the few cars around with HOV stickers up there. Lots of you are flying into Long Beach or LAX and grabbing the last of my HOV stickered cars... we have $4000 incentives on PlugIns down here that are car-based, and not sticker based. It's a crazy free for all. I'll be sold out of gray and silver very quick, and the greens and blues sell less quickly... and the white's a tad pricier so no matter what, please hurry if you want stickers. I'm at MSRP with no markup and I'm about $2000 under MSRP for the non-HOV cars. Once you deduct the 0 apr for 60 months, or do the lease for 36 months, that extra $4K from factory really puts a dent in those car payments.
I usually suggest an email to me directly, but if you want me to get you at an airport this weekend, either LAX, LB, or OC, call me asap.
949-689-0717
310-522-2317
Dianne

 

Thanks acceleraptor, that number worked and they were surprisingly very friendly to speak with.

 

DMV cashed my check, so does that mean there is a good chance I may get my stickers?

 

Yes, you should get it within a few days.

 

It looks like the scramble for HOV stickers really pushed PIP sales this month. Inside EV is reporting 1,741 PIPs sold which means that in the US they outsold other plug-in except the Leaf. They also reported that all the HOV stickers are gone but not sure where they got that from.

 

That's about as high a probability as you can get short of receiving actual cert and stickers, yep.

 

• 5,037 PiP's sold YTD 2014 vs. 2,922 last year

My estimates:

• 3,337 PiP's sold YTD 2014 in CA vs. 1,222 PiPs sold YTD 2013 CA (or almost 3x last year)
• 66% of PiP's were sold in CA so far 2014 (vs. an estimated 42% for 2013*)

* about 42% of all Plug-In Hybrids were sold in CA last year, but as far as I know, we have no PiP-specific CA sales figures. Some think my estimates may be low: even higher % PiPs in CA possibly.

 

AB2013 is rolling again. It passed the Assembly yesterday 63 - 4 (54 votes required) and now goes to the Senate. As an urgency measure, it would take effect as soon as the governor signs it.

If I were DMV I'd be printing more stickers.

 

If ever there was anything worth praying for on a professional level, this is it! Even 10k more stickers would be awesome....

 

I still worry this will result in the program being cancelled entirely due to saturation of the carpool lanes resulting in federal funding cut to California If it weren't for that, I'd be 100% on board with adding more.

 

I don't think that there should be more green HOV stickers. I'm not saying this because I've got mine so screw everyone else. This purpose of the program was to provide an extra incentive to reduce air pollution by driving a cleaner car. There was plenty of time (2 years) for anyone so motivated to go buy a PIP, Volt or Ford. The window is now closed. But anyone that still wants HOV access can step up to an even less air polluting car, an EV with white stickers. The lanes will get full with too many solo drivers with stickers, we do need room for those white sticker drivers who haven't bought yet.

Mike

 

Not sure EVs are quite ready for prime time due to their current cruising ranges and "refueling" times, hence plug-ins and even non-plugin hybrids still offer versatility EVs don't while being cleaner. I don't think the "window" should be closed off, but I didn't think the window should have been closed off during the interim between the yellow and green decals either (was there one?).

I think higher traffic areas should move to converting an additional lane of "ordinary" traffic to HOV, at least during commute and continue to offer sticker incentives.

 

I think that EVs go plenty far enough for people owning them to use HOV lanes. People overestimate how far they drive each day and/or only people who drive far speak up.

One way commute distance, percentage, cumulative percentage
1-5 Miles 29%
6-10 Miles 22% 51%
11-15 Miles 17% 68%
16-20 Miles 10% 78%
21-25 Miles 7% 85%
26-30 Miles 5% 90% handled by Leaf and others
31-35 Miles 3% 93% handled by Tesla
35 + Miles 8% 100%

source: Commute Statistics | Statistic Brain

Even if these numbers are way off and Leaf owners can't handle 90% of commutes and it is only 50%. It is still a big portion of drivers who'd qualify. And some can charge at work as well.

Mike

 

I think the legislature missed an opportunity while they're amending the HOV sticker law.

CARB created the new BEVx category for the BMW i3 with range extender ICE. It gets the manufacturer the same credits as a pure EV, as long as the ICE is only a generator and has less range than the battery.

That's a different program than the HOV stickers. But the legislature is missing their opportunity to give those BEVx cars white stickers. They're just what's needed in the next few years to move people into longer range EVs without the range anxiety barrier.

But no way the bill's sponsor, the assemblyman from Torrance, would help out BMW like that.

Unless things have changed now that Toyota's moving from his district to Texas.