Starting from October 1st, owners of electric cars with California’s “Clean Air Vehicle” stickers will lose the privilege of using the “High Occupancy Vehicle” lane alone and may face fines for violations.
Currently, at least 500,000 car owners in California possess low-emission vehicles with the HOV sticker or CAV decal.
Owners with these stickers are allowed to use the carpool lane even when driving alone, while those without stickers must adhere to the regular traffic laws, requiring two or more occupants (some areas mandate three) to use the carpool lane. Violators risk facing a fine of $490, with repeat offenders possibly facing higher penalties.
As the federal government is not extending the program any further, if there are no legislative changes, all sticker colors will become invalid by September 30, 2025. At that time, electric car owners must comply with the same rules as other drivers and will no longer be able to travel alone in the carpool lane.
In an effort to encourage more people to purchase clean energy vehicles, California began granting “privileges” to electric and hybrid vehicle owners 25 years ago: eligible vehicle owners could apply for an HOV sticker upon purchase.
Subsequently, this program evolved, with the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) issuing stickers of different colors each year to indicate the validity period of each sticker. Sticker colors include maroon, green, yellow, blue, and orange. After September 30th, all colors of stickers will be rendered invalid.
California is currently still accepting applications for HOV stickers, with the deadline set at August 29th. However, based on the aforementioned regulations, even if a car owner obtains the sticker, the privilege of using the carpool lane alone is now limited to about a month.
Several surveys in the past have shown that California’s HOV stickers have been a significant driving force for people to purchase electric vehicles. With the soon-to-end HOV sticker program, electric cars may lose a major advantage.
The DMV is reminding all car owners that starting from October 1st, all vehicles entering the carpool lane must comply with the occupancy requirements, or else they “will face fines.”