When I was environmentally virtuous by 2009 standards, I demonstrated it by purchasing my trusty Toyota Prius, which still purrs to this day.
California rewarded me with a yellow sticker that granted me free access to California highway carpool lanes and I was thrilled.
A few years later, California pushed back climate change goals and only qualified all-electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles for special carpool lane status, bringing me once again into the interstate version of management . Changing and updating the rules has become a cottage industry for the California Legislature. The qualifying stickers have gone from purple to orange, blue to yellow (again), green and now burgundy.
The era of these special stickers will end next year. This is exactly the right thing to do. Temporary government incentives to meet temporary needs must eventually end.
Notice
Motivating the abandonment of energy-guzzling vehicles is yesterday’s news in California. By 2035, California is expected to sell only electric vehicles as part of a plan to decarbonize the economy by 2045, meaning stopping or reducing carbon gases, like carbon dioxide, released into the atmosphere.
If everyone drives an electric vehicle, not everyone can take this carpool lane.
The purpose of the “expressway” evolves with the climate. It can no longer be about the lucky few who can afford a Tesla enjoying a shorter commute. The expressway has two legitimate occupants who can pass through it for free: a carpool or a multi-seat vehicle, such as a bus. The other is the lone motorist who is willing to pay a toll that subsidizes the transportation system in exchange for faster access to their destination.
Although the Sacramento region does not yet have toll lanes, construction on a project in Yolo and Sacramento counties could begin as soon as this year.
Regional transportation planners at the Sacramento Area Council of Governments, for example, are relying on an aggressive transformation of carpool lanes to help reduce overall emissions. On Highways 5 and 80, for example, SACOG is considering two carpool/toll lanes during peak hours, including one of the existing lanes.
This could be a huge change from the status quo, but the California Department of Transportation refuses to even study the regional plan because it plans to widen Route 80 between Sacramento and Davis.
This head-in-the-sand mentality delays needed progress on carpool lanes and runs counter to the broader public message the Newsom administration should send that change is needed.
Only ten years ago, the carpool lane sticker provided a huge incentive to purchase an eligible car. A 2016 study estimates that at least 25% of Californians bought their electric or plug-in hybrid cars simply to go faster on the highway, but this situation is no longer tenable. Not everyone can ride an express lane, especially single-passenger mockers who have never belonged there.
Addressing climate change as a common challenge is the only possible way for California to succeed as a pioneer. Nobody gets a pass.
yahoo
