Hybrid and EV Drivers: Your Solo Carpool Lane Access Ends Wednesday. What Now?

For more than two decades, California’s Clean Air Vehicle Decal Program has allowed certain hybrid, electric and hydrogen-powered cars to use the carpool lane — even when they didn’t meet the passenger minimum that other cars are subject to.

On Wednesday, CAV comes to an end, and drivers who would have otherwise qualified for the program will no longer be able to use the HOV lane if driving without passengers, regardless of whether they have a valid clean-air sticker on their vehicle.

However, the California Highway Patrol has confirmed to KQED that drivers will have a 60-day grace period beginning Oct. 1, “during which drivers with a valid clean-air decal will not be cited for driving alone in the carpool lane.” But CHP added that officers could still pull over drivers during this period for a variety of reasons.

After Nov. 30 — once 60 days have passed — CHP confirmed that driving without passengers in the carpool lane will result in a citation.

Why is the CAV Decal Program ending?

California officials originally launched CAV in 1999 to encourage drivers to buy low-emission vehicles. But Congress did not approve an extension of CAV to enable the program to keep running. “The state needs approval to operate [the program] on federal roadways throughout the state,” said Lindsay Buckley, director of communications of the California Air Resources Board.

• Jump straight to: How can I keep using the carpool lane?

“We’re really disappointed in the federal government’s inaction,” added Buckley. “It’s a really smart, cost-effective thing that has played an important role here in driving adoption of clean air vehicles and making Californians aware that these vehicles even exist.”

According to state data, this change will affect around half a million vehicles that currently have the CAV sticker. If you’re one of them, keep reading for what you need to know.

I have a CAV decal. What will happen on Oct. 1?

Sept. 30 is the last day the CAV program will exist in its current form. State officials previously told KQED that after that date, folks driving solo in the HOV lane could receive a citation from CHP. And misusing the carpool lane could cost you a fine of at least $490.

But CHP recently updated KQED that drivers will have a 60-day grace period starting Oct. 1 where the law enforcement agency will be educating residents about this change. During this 60-day window, however, CHP could still pull over a car with a decal, if officers believe there’s something else the driver is doing wrong.

(You don’t have to remove your decal if you don’t want to.)

Does this impact all CAV decal colors?

In the past, the California Department of Motor Vehicles would send out decals with different colors depending on the year. Different colors have different expiration dates: Yellow and green decals, for example, will expire on Sept. 30.

As of Aug. 30, even if you’ve just purchased the newest EV on the market, you can no longer order a new CAV decal.

What can I do if I want to keep using the carpool lane?

Carpool with more people

Different highways have different regulations for how many people need to be inside a vehicle in order to use the carpool lane legally. On most routes, you need at least two people in the vehicle — including the driver — to enter the HOV lane during peak commute hours. But you need at least three people when driving I-80 (including the Bay Bridge) and I-880 in the Bay Area.

Consider public transit …

As frustrating as it might feel if you’re one of those people who purchased an EV primarily for the carpool access, you may have to explore new commute options outside of your car.

“Folks might want to consider public transit as an alternative due to the additional travel time that they may face out of the carpool lane,” Buckley said.

If you haven’t ridden BART or AC Transit across the Bay in a while, keep in mind that both agencies updated their schedules and routes in August.

… or look into casual carpool 

Another option for folks commuting from the East Bay to San Francisco is the region’s reactivated casual carpool initiative. Organized informally by riders, two passengers join a driver to form a 3-person carpool. Paused during the pandemic, community members have set up more than 20 casual carpool pick-up locations.

See if you qualify for an Express Lanes discount

If you are looking for other ways to save time but also money when commuting across the Bay Bridge, you may qualify for Express Lanes START. This discount program offers drivers who make below a certain income a discount of at least 50% on their tolls when using the I-880 Express Lanes.

How effective was the CAV Decal Program?

Since CAV was first created, more than a million Californians have received a decal for their car. Multiple academic studies — most of them from the 2010s — show that the initiative succeeded in convincing drivers to switch over to low-emission vehicles. A 2014 UC Davis study found that 54% of Prius drivers in the nine-county Bay Area said that they chose to purchase a hybrid vehicle primarily for access to the HOV lane. In Los Angeles, that number was 64%.

Low-emission vehicles are now everywhere in the state’s highways: per federal data, roughly one in three electric vehicles in the country are registered in the Golden State. Researchers at the University of Southern California in 2023 found that zip codes with a higher percentage of EVs also saw lower concentration in the air of nitrogen dioxide — a pollutant that causes certain respiratory diseases.

It’s still unclear whether any long-term impacts on the state’s air quality can be attributed to the CAV program or other factors. The 2023 USC study also found that zip codes with more EVs were also much wealthier than those with fewer low-emission cars.