California's Clean Air Vehicle Decal program will expire on Oct. 1 according to the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV).
Since 2001, the DMV says they’ve issued over 1 million decals to owners of electric and hybrid vehicles.
“That sticker is good for four years to where you can use the HOV lane as a single driver or a single person in a car, you don't have to have other people in the vehicle,” said Elaine Borseth.
Borseth is president of the Electric Vehicle Association of San Diego, and drives a Tesla Model S.
“It's a big perk for people that are in areas especially like San Diego, or LA or San Francisco where traffic is an issue,” Borseth said.
Sona Sefcikova said her CAV decal expires the same day the program is set to end. She said the lack of the benefit might influence her future vehicle plans.
“If I was to buy a new car it would probably impact my decision about whether I'm going to drive a fully electric car again,” Sefcikova said.
Californians can still apply for a CAV decal through Aug. 29.
On Wednesday, California Rep. Mark DeSaulnier, D-Antioch, and Arizona Rep. Greg Stanton, D-Tempe, introduced the HOV Lane Exemption Reauthorization Act. The measure would allow states the option to grant electric vehicles and alternative fuel vehicles the right to use HOV lanes through 2031.
If Congress fails pass that legislation by Sept. 30, the stickers will become invalid Oct. 1, according to the DMV.
“The federal government’s decision to eliminate this smart and popular program will hurt hundreds of thousands of California drivers, and these drivers will have to pay the price,” said DMV spokesperson Jonathan Groveman in a statement. “It’s a lose-lose situation and the state is now looking at other options to provide this service to Californians.”
Groveman did not elaborate on what those options could be.
The decal program has incentivized people to buy electric vehicles according to Lindsay Buckley, director of communications for the California Air Resources Board.
“A lot of Californians have come to know that if you drive a zero-emissions vehicle you get this special access in the carpool lane,” Buckley said. “We believe it's helped nudge folks along toward considering a zero-emission vehicle, which is really important for our overall air quality and climate change goals here in California.”
The DMV said more than 400,000 vehicles have valid stickers in California. Borseth is worried about the impact of them going away.
“With that gone it could hurt EV adoption in the state,” she said.
