EV drivers kicked out of the carpool lane as California free-ride sticker program ends

EV drivers are losing their shortcut through the carpool lane as the long-running California free-ride sticker program comes to an end.

For more than 25 years, the program gave owners of electric, plug-in hybrid, and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles a coveted perk: the ability to skip traffic, even when driving solo.

Those familiar $27 decals, which could also unlock discounts on tolls and bridges, quickly became a badge of honor for green-minded motorists.

But starting October 1, that perk will disappear.

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More US states are doing the same

Since its launch in 1999, the California free-ride sticker program has issued more than a million decals, helping spur California’s early embrace of electrification.

Even New York copied the idea with its Clean Pass program, which opened up High-Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes on the Long Island Expressway to electrified cars.

For countless commuters, the program not only saved gas, but saved valuable time.

Losing that privilege is likely to sting, especially for drivers who just recently paid for a sticker and won’t be getting a refund.

The change isn’t limited to California.

New York is also pulling the plug on its Clean Pass program, which issued more than 48,000 decals and helped Long Island develop one of the highest shares of EVs in the state.

According to officials, the programs lapsed as Congress and the President have not reauthorized the program.

Why are these changes being made?

Experts note the programs may have been victims of their own success.

Gil Tal, director of the Electric Vehicle Research Center at UC Davis, says the decals were a clever incentive to nudge consumers toward cleaner cars.

As expected, California’s EV usage surged, and its charging stations even outnumbered gas pumps in the state.

However, with 22 percent of new light-duty vehicles now electrified, the carpool lanes started getting crowded.

“We couldn’t keep this up, because there are just too many electric cars,” Tal explained.

For California, the loss of the carpool sticker won’t slow the state’s broader ambitions, although California doesn’t make the top 10 list for best US states to own an EV.

Regulators are sticking with their plan to ban the sale of new gas-powered cars by 2035, and state agencies continue to explore new ways to accelerate adoption.

For EV drivers, though, the traffic ahead just got a little slower.

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