The race to get your Hybrid sticker, so you can use the Diamond Lane. After the signing of the Transportation Bill, and the approval for California to allow Hybrid drivers in the Diamond Lane, we discovered that the legislation limits the number of Hybrid permits to 75,000 statewide.
There is news out today that the legislation has cause to reduce that number to 50,000 is the state believes ("feel") that the Diamond Lanes get too congested. Who will make the determination as to the amount of comfortable congestion in the state's Diamond Lane? And when they do, who will offer the first lawsuit for discrimination over this very limiting piece of legislation?
The concerns are over the volume of traffic for the carpool lanes, will they become too crowded. The law allows the DMV to issue 75,000 permits, but it allows the program to be suspended after 50,000 are issued, depending on congestion in the high-occupancy vehicle lanes. That will be determined by state and federal officials.
Here is the report today from the SF Chronicle:
There are nearly 66,000 Hybrid drivers in California currently, so far those who have applied for a permit is nearing 15,000. Only 1,500 have been mailed out to the public. Chances are, if you didn't own a Hybrid 'before' the legislation's birth, you will have little, if no chance, to obtain a sticker for Diamond Lane travels.
There are some other discoveries; In the Bay Area, you must have a 'FasTrak' transponder to receive the permit. The permit costs $8, but 'FasTrak' requires a $40 to $50 start-up fee, depending on the method of payment.
If Hybrid user are actually carpooling, they can a special cover to shield their transponders, but this is an extra fee as well.
I can't wait until the first 'discrimination lawsuit' to hit the state. A Hybrid owner who cannot receive the benefits of his vehicle, due to exclusion.
