Tuesday, November 23, 2004
Prius on Carpool lane ?!
I have been carpooling for at least 5 years now, this morning, I was on the carpool lane, and talking with the driver about a law that has been passed, which will allow certain hybrid cars to use carpool lane even with one driver.
I thought that's a stupid policy to 'encourage' more people to buy energy saving automobiles.
1, Cars like Prius, Honda Civic Hybrid are such a hot cake, their buyers usually waited for 4-5 months to get their car, let along sometimes paying $2000-3000 premium for it.
2, Hybrid cars will turn off their engines when they stop, some of them, such as Prius will use battery power together with gasoline engine at low speed, hence the emmissions are generally lower, why do we let cars with very low emmission at low speed use carpool lane, and make more Gas-guzzling SUVs emit more CO2.
I don't think there should be any special treatment to such a car, and I doubt whether this policy will last long.
I have to note that on Feb 11, 2005, about 2.5 months after I emailed Diane Feinstein on the issue of Hybrid car using Carpool lane, she actually replied. Here is an excerpt of her email :
I believe that allowing hybrids into HOV lanes is a low-cost and
quick way to help promote the use of hybrids. With more fuel-efficient
vehicles on the road, I believe that we can improve our air quality and
diminish our dependence on foreign oil. In the coming weeks, I plan to
introduce a bill in the Senate that would allow hybrid vehicles access to
HOV lanes.
I understand the reservations you have about allowing hybrids to
use HOV lanes. I have heard from several constituents who are worried
about hybrid vehicles causing traffic and congestion in HOV lanes. For
this reason, I have introduced a provision in the bill that allows states to
implement their own hybrid access rules. In California for instance, the
number of hybrids allowed to access HOV lanes is limited to 75,000.
Please know that I will keep your concerns in mind as both California
and the Nation continue to address the issue of hybrids on our highways.
I thought that's a stupid policy to 'encourage' more people to buy energy saving automobiles.
1, Cars like Prius, Honda Civic Hybrid are such a hot cake, their buyers usually waited for 4-5 months to get their car, let along sometimes paying $2000-3000 premium for it.
2, Hybrid cars will turn off their engines when they stop, some of them, such as Prius will use battery power together with gasoline engine at low speed, hence the emmissions are generally lower, why do we let cars with very low emmission at low speed use carpool lane, and make more Gas-guzzling SUVs emit more CO2.
I don't think there should be any special treatment to such a car, and I doubt whether this policy will last long.
I have to note that on Feb 11, 2005, about 2.5 months after I emailed Diane Feinstein on the issue of Hybrid car using Carpool lane, she actually replied. Here is an excerpt of her email :
I believe that allowing hybrids into HOV lanes is a low-cost and
quick way to help promote the use of hybrids. With more fuel-efficient
vehicles on the road, I believe that we can improve our air quality and
diminish our dependence on foreign oil. In the coming weeks, I plan to
introduce a bill in the Senate that would allow hybrid vehicles access to
HOV lanes.
I understand the reservations you have about allowing hybrids to
use HOV lanes. I have heard from several constituents who are worried
about hybrid vehicles causing traffic and congestion in HOV lanes. For
this reason, I have introduced a provision in the bill that allows states to
implement their own hybrid access rules. In California for instance, the
number of hybrids allowed to access HOV lanes is limited to 75,000.
Please know that I will keep your concerns in mind as both California
and the Nation continue to address the issue of hybrids on our highways.
