By Steve Levy
The preliminary findings suggest that the state and the feds made a mistake by no longer allowing hybrid and electric vehicles access to the HOV lane with a single occupant.
We imagine the idea behind this is to try to promote carpooling, but let’s face it: no one in this day and age is carpooling. It’s simply too impractical and doesn’t fit with people’s flexible or often uncertain schedules. (The days of a huge chunk of our workforce all going to one centralized location, working the same hours, as with Grumman, are over.)
When I was in the state assembly, I pushed for allowing electric and hybrid vehicles access into the HOV with a single occupant in an effort to encourage the purchase of these vehicles.
It seemed to work. Many people, indeed, purchased these vehicles for that purpose, myself included. It shortened the commute for many of these folks by a half hour each way. It also took vehicles off of the three other lanes, allowing the non-hybrid vehicles to travel more smoothly as well.
Since it ended on October 1, we’re hearing reports that people who used to travel this lane are now having to commute significantly longer each day.
This is going to lead to fewer electric and hybrids being purchased in the first place.
So what’s the purpose of this new rule? Get it back to the old way so that the traffic can flow more smoothly and all four lanes.
And if they’re not going to get back to where it was, then open up all four lanes to everyone. The present situation is the worst possible scenario.
We also can’t understand why the state needs federal permission to do this. While, technically, the expressway is part of the federal system, it is maintained by the state. When it comes to federal and state laws, it’s usually the case that the state cannot weaken federal law, but it can often go beyond what the feds enact as a minimum threshold.
Let’s find out. Get a bill in there to reopen the HOV lane for the electric and hybrid vehicles.