Highway Bill passes House and Senate

Hybrids to join carpool lanes

"California's law was supposed to take effect Jan. 1 but first needed approval from the federal government. That permission was tucked into a $286 billion transportation bill Congress passed last week, meaning there is just one last strand of red tape keeping hybrids out of the high-occupancy vehicle lanes: State air regulators need to clarify which vehicles meet the mileage and emissions standards.

California Air Resources Board attorneys are reviewing the bills to determine officially what vehicles will qualify, said spokeswoman Gennet Paauwe.

California will become the second state to allow hybrids with just one person in the car to use car pool lanes. Virginia enacted the change in 2000, and Arizona, Connecticut, Georgia and Minnesota are considering it.

To prevent hybrids from clogging car pool lanes, Pavley's bill expires in 2007 and caps at 75,000 the number of hybrid vehicles that could participate. Owners would have to pay about $8 for decals identifying their vehicles as hybrids to police.

As of the end of June, there were 57,164 hybrids registered in California, though not all would be car pool-eligible, according to the Department of Motor Vehicles.

In a sign of the vehicles' growing popularity, nearly 24,000 hybrids were registered in the first six months of this year."