By Steve Levy
The midnight hour for the closure of HOV lanes to solo operated electric and hybrid vehicles is upon us.
You can still get on the HOV lane, but only if you have multiple occupants.
So, starting October 1, all the folks who bought hybrid and electric vehicles to get access to the HOV lane to commute to work without another person in the car will be restricted from doing so and will have to stay in the other three stagnant lanes.
The proposal is designed to encourage more carpooling, but let’s face it, very few carpool anymore.
It’s not like a big chunk of our population is driving to a centralized place like the Grumman facility half a century ago
We work in different places at staggered hours, so carpooling is simply unrealistic.
Opening the HOV lane to hybrid and electric vehicles was designed as an incentive to get people to buy these vehicles.
It was thought that, with the new mandates, everyone would have an EV or hybrid by now.
But it never panned out
We will have to see if these new rules make the traffic better or worse.
But common sense suggests that, if you want to encourage the purchase of more electric and hybrid vehicles, then open the HOV lane to those who take that route.
It’s not too late for our officials to pass legislation to do so.