CA Assembly Bill 544: If you use the car pool lanes, you must read this!
Bought my 2014 Model S CPO in March 2018 in the Bay Area. It did not have the "Clean Air Vehicle: Access OK" sticker on it at that time. Applied for and was issued the new red decal from the DMV. Even got a notice from them in the summer that the red stickers expiration date was being extended until 2022. So far, so good since I commute 30 miles each way on 101 & being able to use the car pool lanes was a prime motivation for me to switch to EV's!
Two days back, I got a notice from the DMV that my red decal stickers were issued in error & are being revoked. Instead, they sent me white decal stickers with an expiration date of Dec 31, 2018 & cannot be renewed after that. Meaning, no more car pool access from January 1, 2019!! This is been a rude shock to me... I called up the DMV number on the mailing notice. The lady who answered was very courteous but she explained that according to the new CA Bill 544, "only those with a Clean Air Vehicle Decal originally issued from January 1, 2017 - December 31, 2018 will be able to to participate after January 1, 2019". Apparently, my car had originally been issued white decals back in 2014 (which Tesla never told me about) and so I was ineligible and had been issued red decals in error earlier this year. She also said that she's been hearing a lot of complaints from people about this new policy & I should take it up with my local assemblyman/state senator if I wanted to pursue this further.
Now I am agonizing about this... I love my Tesla and it has been a remarkable driving experience indeed that I can't imagine driving any other EV.. but I also don't want to lose my car pool access. According to http://www.cbs8.com/story/39081947/clean-air-vehicles-223000-solo-drivers-to-lose-access-to-hov-lanes, come January 1, 2019, 223,000 solo drivers will lose access to HOV lanes due to this new policy! Can you imagine the traffic jams when that many more people crowd back into the regular lanes! Besides, does it make sense that a pre-2017 EV with zero emissions cannot use the car pool lanes while a newer hybrid vehicle that still pollutes can continue to use them?
I going to take it up on the DMV's advice & contact my council member / state senator & let my displeasure known at this new policy. If you are going to be affected, you should do so too!!
Two days back, I got a notice from the DMV that my red decal stickers were issued in error & are being revoked. Instead, they sent me white decal stickers with an expiration date of Dec 31, 2018 & cannot be renewed after that. Meaning, no more car pool access from January 1, 2019!! This is been a rude shock to me... I called up the DMV number on the mailing notice. The lady who answered was very courteous but she explained that according to the new CA Bill 544, "only those with a Clean Air Vehicle Decal originally issued from January 1, 2017 - December 31, 2018 will be able to to participate after January 1, 2019". Apparently, my car had originally been issued white decals back in 2014 (which Tesla never told me about) and so I was ineligible and had been issued red decals in error earlier this year. She also said that she's been hearing a lot of complaints from people about this new policy & I should take it up with my local assemblyman/state senator if I wanted to pursue this further.
Now I am agonizing about this... I love my Tesla and it has been a remarkable driving experience indeed that I can't imagine driving any other EV.. but I also don't want to lose my car pool access. According to http://www.cbs8.com/story/39081947/clean-air-vehicles-223000-solo-drivers-to-lose-access-to-hov-lanes, come January 1, 2019, 223,000 solo drivers will lose access to HOV lanes due to this new policy! Can you imagine the traffic jams when that many more people crowd back into the regular lanes! Besides, does it make sense that a pre-2017 EV with zero emissions cannot use the car pool lanes while a newer hybrid vehicle that still pollutes can continue to use them?
I going to take it up on the DMV's advice & contact my council member / state senator & let my displeasure known at this new policy. If you are going to be affected, you should do so too!!
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Well, carpool lanes are going to get pretty congested too, if they keep white and red at the same time.
I know it’s harsh but there is a logic behind this policy. Tesla could have told you about the expiring stickers, but the onus was on you to do the research as the stickers are state policy, not Tesla’s.
Read my post again. With all due respect, I did my due diligence. I got bummed on two fronts: First, Tesla never told me that the car had the white decal previously. When I got it in March, there were no stickers on the car & I assumed as much. Second, when I applied in April, the DMV issued the new red decal for the car. They even issued the extension certificate (valid until 2022) in June. Now, in October, they are saying it was all a mistake & I should surrender the red decal.. I feel totally bummed about this...
Couldn't agree more with you. I am not sure what's the point of allowing silly hybrid cars with a few miles of electric range as 'clean air' vehicles. Before the Tesla, I had a 2018 BMW 530e hybrid that had 13 miles of electric range. Thinking about it now, it's laughable that it was classified as a 'clean air' vehicle & was issued the car pool decal! But for the fact that I had to return the car for battery issues (another real bummer!.. no more BMWs for me), I would still be driving on it in the car pool lanes, come 2019! CA 544 is a real beauty!
Example: 2014 Leaf sold in '14, white stickers issued in January 2015. That VEHICLE is not entitled to extended stickers. However, if that Leaf was sold to a low-income person, that PERSON is entitled to a one-time order of extended stickers.
Curiously, though, the law allowing low income persons the stickers doesn't take effect till 1/1/20. The exception for a PERSON is a one-time deal. So that used Leaf owner in the example above will lose HOV access on 1/1/19 (like the rest of us early white/green sticker holders), but on 1/1/20, he/she can get HOV access back.
CVC 5205.5 (a), as amended:
"(3) (A) Notwithstanding the validity timeframe specified in clause (iii) of subparagraph (B) of paragraph (2), commencing January 1, 2020, and until January 1, 2024, a decal, label, or other identifier may be issued pursuant to subparagraph (A) or (C) of paragraph (1) for a vehicle that had previously been issued a decal, label, or other identifier, and the decal, label, or other identifier shall be valid until January 1, 2024, if the applicant for the decal, label, or other identifier has a household income at or below 80 percent of the state median income, as designated by the Department of Housing and Community Development’s list of state income limits adopted pursuant to Section 50093 of the Health and Safety Code. The determination of income eligibility shall be made by a governmental or nonprofit entity selected by the department, in a format prescribed by the department.
(B) A PERSON who obtained a decal, label, or other identifier for a vehicle prior to January 1, 2017, shall not be issued another decal, label, or other identifier pursuant to this paragraph, notwithstanding the person’s qualifying income."
This whole thing is like Alice in Wonderland.
That suggests the stickers were taken off by the owners prior to trade in, or something else must have happened (like a new bumper, or paint job needed because of a rear end accident). There is apparently a market for these decals, just look for them in craigslist.
In any case, you will have white stickers, which you’d have had anyway if they hadn’t been taken off. Your only complaint is that they expire January 1 2019.
Still points to a lack of due diligence on your part, sir. If you’d just done some googling you’d have known about used vehicles and carpool lane sticker policy. Sorry to say.
You didn't ASK? And I'm pretty sure you could confirm the VIN with DMV whether or not that vehicle had stickers previously issued, and when.
No, there's currently no way to check whether a vehicle's been issued the sticker.. I have checked and DMV does not do that, but now I think they should ... and you do get the part where I said that they issued the red stickers back in April & only now discovered that it had been in error, right? That error could have happened at any time of the buying process.
The piece about CVC 5205.5 (a) was an eye-opener. I didn't know about that... thanks for the info!
Exactly what I was going to suggest, but backed off because it might be illegal. However, I wouldn’t know how a cop could tell from afar whether a red decal has been ‘revoked’.
The Legislation appears to be attempting to address overcrowding in the HOV/car pool lanes with single occupant.
BTW 200,000+ people calling/emailing their state legislator would get traction on a modification for ZEV's - just sayin'
The issue really is: IF there is an oversubscription to HOV lanes that is caused by HOV stickered vehicles, then why not get more selective about which vehicles qualify?
In my view, if it has a combustion engine, it should not qualify. This would get rid of the plug in hybrids that, to be honest, 90% were purchased solely for HOV access and are not routinely plugged in.
+1
The hybrid allowance was probably due to lobbying by the big car makers.
The CARB is in bed with Toyota. Not only for the plug in hybrid which benefits Toyota the most but it is also giving FCV a much sweeter deal than BEV. A total waste of resources.
The Prius got 10 miles or so battery miles. Pretty much every Prius you see on the HOV lane is burning gases and emitting toxic gases. What a joke that is.
https://www.change.org/p/jerry-brown-carpool-hov-lane-access-extension-for-zevs?signed=true
Please sign it if you feel strongly about this issue.
Everyone should know I-405 in OC will be converted to HOT. Oh yeah, and no more free access to HOTs in L.A. starting next month.
Stickers from the previous program were ALWAYS slated to expire on Jan 1, 2019 (although some of us hoped and expected they would be extended). I knew 2019 was the end back when I got my stickers in 2013.
Also the previous law made it clear that new stickers would only be issued for cars that hadn't been issued stickers previously. That's why some people go out of their way to buy a used Tesla from an out of state seller. It was on YOU to determine if the car you were considering purchasing met your needs and expectations, not Tesla.
So these constraints existed for many years and weren't the result of the newly passed legislation about how access to these lanes will be governed in the future.