2.0 Summary of State Programs Allowing Exempt Vehicle Use of HOV/HOT Lanes

As of October 2013, 13 states had legislation and programs allowing some combination of hybrid, plug-in electric, low-emission, and energy-efficient vehicles to use HOV/HOT lanes. These states included Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, and Virginia. The program requirements vary, including authorized vehicles, methods to designate vehicles (stickers or license plates), costs, limits on the number of stickers or license plates that can be issued, and restrictions on use of some HOV/HOT lanes.

Tables 1 through 3 highlight general information on HOV/HOT lane user groups and the key elements of the various programs. Table 1 presents the vehicles authorized to use HOT lanes in different states, while Table 2 provides the vehicles authorized to use HOV lanes. Table 3 presents information on the major elements of the exempt vehicle programs in the 13 states; the HOV/HOT lanes covered by the programs, vehicles allowed, the authorization display methods, and any costs. Any limitations on the number of vehicles allowed by the programs, the number of stickers or license plates that can be issued, use as a percent of HOV/HOT lane volume, and the agency or agencies responsible for the programs are also listed. Similarities and differences in the approaches used in the programs are summarized next.

Table 1. HOT Lanes and Authorized Vehicles

State/HOT Lanes	Tolled	Carpools	Occupancy Requirement	Carpool Registration	Vanpools	Buses	Motorcycles	Alternative Fuel Vehicles
California1 San Diego – I-15 Bay Area – I-680 Los Angeles – I-10, I-110			2+, except I-10 – 3+ peak period	No				SULEVs AT-PZEVs
Colorado Denver – I-25			2+	No				Qualifying Hybrids
Florida Miami – I-95			3+	Yes				Qualifying Hybrids
Georgia2 Atlanta – I-85			3+	Yes				AFVs
Minnesota Minneapolis – I-394, I-35W			2+	No
Texas3 Houston – I-10W, I-45S, I-45N, US 59S, US 59N, US 290			2+	No
Utah Salt Lake City – I-15			2+	No				Qualifying Hybrids
Virginia I-495			2+	No
Washington Seattle – SR 167			2+	No

Table 2. Freeway HOV Lanes and Authorized Vehicles

State/HOV Lanes	Carpools	Occupancy Requirement	Vanpools	Buses	Motorcycles	Alternative Fuel Vehicles
Arizona Phoenix Area – I-10, I-71, SR 51, SR 101, SR 202		2+				Qualifying Hybrids
California1 Bay Area – SR 4, SR 84, SR 85, SR 87, SR 92, SR 237, I-80, I-280, I-580, I-680, I-880, US 101 Sacramento – SR 51, SR 99, US 50, I-80 Los Angeles/Southern California – I-105, I-605, SR 14, SR 22, SR 55, SR 57, SR 60, SR 71, SR 91, SR 118, SR 210, SR 134, SR 170, I-210, I-215, I-405, I-5, I-405		2+, except Bay Bridge approach – 3+				SULEVs AT-PZEVs
Colorado Denver – US 36, SH 82, US 85		2+				Qualifying Hybrids
Connecticut Hartford – I-84, I-91, I-384		2+
Georgia2 Atlanta – I-75, I-20		2+				AFVs
Hawaii Honolulu – H-201, H-1, H-2, Route 92, Route 72		2+				EVs
Maryland I-270, US 50		2+				PIVs
Massachusetts I-93		2+
New York Long Island Expressway (LIE) Staten Island Expressway (SIE)		2+ (LIE) 3+ (SIE)				Qualifying Hybrids (LIE)
North Carolina Charlotte – I-77		2+				PIV, natural gas, fuel cell electric
Pennsylvania Pittsburgh – I-279/I-579		2+
Tennessee Nashville – I-65, I-40, I-24, Memphis – I-40, I-55		2+				Qualifying Hybrids
Texas Dallas – I-30E, i-35E, I-635, US 67		2+
Virginia Northern Virginia – I-95, I-395		3+				Qualifying Hybrids
I-66, Dulles Toll Road		2+

Table 3. Hybrid and ILEV Authorization by State

State Legislation/Initiated	Facilities	Vehicles Allowed	Display Method	Cost	Limit	Number Issued1	Percent of HOV/HOT Lane Volumes1	Responsible Agency
Arizona 1997 – AFVs 2001 – Hybrids	Phoenix area HOV lanes – I-10, I-17, SR 51, SR 101, SR 202,	ILEVs, qualifying hybrids	Special license plate	$10.59				Arizona Department of Transportation
2007 – Pilot Initiated					10,000 additional 2,500 issued	12,500	NI	Arizona Department of Transportation
California	All HOV lanes in the state							California Air Resources Board, California Department of Motor Vehicles, California Department of Transportation
1999 – SULEVs		SULEVs	White clean air vehicle sticker	$8.00	No limit	21,743	5%-to-15% of HOV lane volumes for white and yellow stickers	California Air Resources Board, California Department of Motor Vehicles, California Department of Transportation
2004 – Hybrids(Allowed to Expire July 1, 2011)		Hybrids	Yellow clean air vehicle sticker	$8.00	75,000 initially, 10,000 added	85,000		California Air Resources Board, California Department of Motor Vehicles, California Department of Transportation
2011 – Enhanced AT-PZEVs		AT-PZEVs	Green clean air vehicle sticker	$8.00	40,000	8,859		California Air Resources Board, California Department of Motor Vehicles, California Department of Transportation
Colorado 1998 – ILEVS	Denver area – U.S. 36, Santa Fe Drive							Colorado Department of Transportation, Colorado Department of Revenue
2003 – Hybrids	SH 82 HOV lanes, and I-25 Express Lanes	ILEVS, qualifying hybrids	Orange stickers, toll transponders	No cost for sticker, deposit for transponder	2,000	2,000	4% of HOV volume and 2% of total vehicles on I-25 Express Lanes	Colorado Department of Transportation, Colorado Department of Revenue
Florida 2003 –ILEVs and Hybrids (based on Federal Approval)	I-95 HOT lanes	ILEVS, qualifying hybrids	Decal	No cost	No limit	3,722	1.5% of monthly trips, 55% of toll-exempt trips	Florida Department of Transportation, Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles
Georgia 1991 – AFVs2004 – Hybrids	Atlanta area – I-85, hybrid use not allowed	AFVs	License plates/special tag	$20 annual registration/decal fee; $35 special tag fee	No limit	NI	Use by AFVs not available	Georgia Department of Transportation, Georgia Department of Revenue
Hawaii	Honolulu area – H-1, H-2, H-201, Route 92, Route 72	EVs	License plates	NI	No Limit	NI	NI	Hawaii Department of Transportation
Maryland	I-270 and US 50 HOV lanes	PIVs	Permit	No Cost2	No Limit	988	NI	Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration, State Highway Administration, Maryland Department of Transportation
New Jersey 2006 – Hybrids 2009 – Reconfirmed	New Jersey Turnpike HOV lanes	ILEVS, qualifying hybrids	No display	Must still pay toll	No limit		NI	New Jersey Turnpike Authority
New York	Long Island Expressway	Hybrids	Decal	No cost	No limit	19,895	26%-to-31% of peak hour HOV lane volumes	New York Department of Transportation, New York State Department of Motor Vehicles, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
North Carolina	Charlotte – I-77	PIVs, natural gas, fuel cell electric	NI	NI	NI		NI	North Carolina Department of Transportation
Tennessee 2009 – Hybrids	Nashville area – I-65, I-40, I-24 HOV lanes; Memphis area – I-40 and I-55-HOV lanes	Hybrids	Decal	No cost	No limit	2,133	NI	Tennessee Department of Revenue, Tennessee Department of Transportation
Utah 2001 – AVLs and Qualifying Hybrids 2011 – Modified to Match EPA Requirements	I-15 HOT Express Lanes in Salt Lake City	Qualifying hybrids	Decal (change from license plate)	$10 fee for C Decal	No limit	5,555 C Decals	NI	Utah Department of Transportation
Virginia 1993 – AVLs 2000 – Hybrids	Northern Virginia – I-395, I-95, I-66, Dulles Toll Road; Hampton Roads – I-64, SR 44	Qualifying hybrids	License plate	$25 fee for license plate	Use limited by plate type3	26,516	10%-to-24% of HOV lane volumes in northern Virginia	Virginia Department of Transportation, Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles

Information on the use of HOV/HOT lanes by law enforcement, emergency medical, and other exempt vehicles is presented at the end of this chapter.

2.1 SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES IN LOW-EMISSION AND ENERGY EFFICIENT VEHICLE PROGRAMS

As highlighted in Table 3, the 13 programs focus on different types of hybrid, plug-in electric, low-emission, and energy-efficient vehicles and have different requirements. Key similarities and differences in the approaches are summarized in this section.

• Exempt vehicle legislation in seven states – Arizona, Hawaii, Maryland, New York, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia – cover HOV lanes. Programs in California, Colorado, Georgia, Florida, and Utah include HOT lanes. The New Jersey program allows hybrid and other low-emission and energy-efficient vehicles to use the HOV lanes on the New Jersey Turnpike, but these vehicles must still pay the toll.
• Although all states follow the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) guidelines related to low-emission and energy-efficient vehicles, there are differences in the models and makes of hybrid and alternative fuel vehicles (AFVs) allowed to use HOV/HOT lanes. In Arizona, only three models – the Honda Insight, the Toyota Prius, and the Honda Civic Hybrid – met the Tier II emissions requirements and achieved not less than 45 percent fuel efficiency in combined city-highway fuel economy when the pilot program was initiated in 2007. Since it is an ongoing pilot, these models continue to be the only ones eligible for the program, although any model year qualifies. In comparison, the Florida program included almost 200 eligible hybrids and other AFVs. Legislation in two states – Hawaii and Maryland – focuses on electric vehicle (EVs) and plug-in electric vehicles (PIVs or PEVs).
• Four states – Arizona, Georgia, Hawaii, and Virginia – use special license plates for qualifying hybrids and other AFVs. Seven states – California, Colorado, Florida, Maryland, New York, Tennessee, and Utah – use stickers, decals, or permits that must be displayed on a vehicle.
• New Jersey does not use any display methods for hybrid vehicles using the New Jersey Turnpike HOV lanes. Single-occupancy Hybrid vehicle drivers must still pay the toll, but have access to the HOV lanes.
• Five states – Arizona, California, Georgia, Utah, and Virginia – charge a fee for the exempt vehicle license plate or sticker. The fees range from a low of $8 in California, to a high of $25 in Virginia. No fees are charged with the programs in Colorado, Florida, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, and Tennessee. However, drivers must pay for toll transponders in Colorado and Florida, and New Jersey.
• Three states – Arizona, California, and Colorado – limit the number of license plates or stickers that can be issued to hybrids or other AFVs. Arizona initially allowed 10,000 special license plates to be allocated in the pilot program implemented in February 2007. The limit of 10,000 was reached in May 2008. In 2011, the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) calculated that an additional 2,500 special license plates could be issued based on returned and non-renewed plates. Available in September 2011, these additional 2,500 license plates were quickly taken. The 2004 legislation in California allowing hybrids access to HOV lanes authorized 75,000 yellow clean air vehicle stickers. Subsequent legislation in 2006 allowed an additional 10,000 decals to be issued. There were 85,000 stickers in use when the legislation was allowed to expire on July 1, 2011. The new green clean air vehicle stickers are limited to the first 40,000 vehicles meeting the new California Enhanced Advanced Technology – Partial Zero Emission Vehicle (AT-PZEV) requirements. As of December 31, 2012, 8,859 green clean air vehicle stickers had been issued. There are no limits on the number of white clean air vehicle stickers for California’s super ultra-low emissions vehicles (SULEV). As of December 31, 2012, 21,743 white stickers had been issued. In Colorado, the number of orange stickers available for use of the HOV/HOT lanes in the Denver area was limited to the first 2,000 vehicles. This limit was reached in mid-2012.
• The number of decals, stickers, or license plates issued varies by state. California and Virginia have experienced the most demand, probably due to the trip-time savings and trip-time reliability afforded by the HOV lanes in the two states. California reached the legislatively imposed limit of 85,000 for the yellow hybrid stickers in mid-2006. The legislature allowed the yellow hybrid sticker program to expire on July 1, 2011. Both the white stickers and the new green stickers continued to be issued, with 21,743 white stickers and 8,859 green stickers in circulation as of the end of 2012. Approximately 25,696 clean special fuel license plates were issued in Virginia as of October 2013, with use restricted by different HOV facilities. In comparison, approximately 12,500 special license plates have been issued in Arizona, which is the legislatively-imposed limit, and the limit of 2,000 stickers has been reached in Colorado. Approximately 1,300 hybrid decals have been issued in Nashville, 5,555 C Decals have been issued in Utah, and approximately 20,000 hybrid decals have been issued for the Long Island Expressway (LIE) in New York, all of which have no limit.
• California is the only state to allow legislation on hybrid access to HOV lanes to expire. As of July 1, 2011, the 85,000 hybrid vehicles with the yellow clean air vehicle stickers were no longer able to access the HOV lanes in the state without meeting the vehicle-occupancy requirements. The original legislation allowing HOV access to qualifying inherently low-emission vehicles (ILEVs) with white clean air vehicle stickers was extended until January 1, 2015. In addition, the legislation established a new green clean air vehicle sticker for vehicles meeting California’s enhanced AT-PZEV requirements. As noted previously, as of December 31, 2012, 8,859 green clean air vehicle stickers had been issued. Legislation passed in 2013 extended the white and the green clean vehicle sticker programs until 2019.
• Virginia is the only state to regulate hybrid vehicle use of the HOV lanes by changing the clean special fuel license plate design and limiting hybrid vehicle access to specific HOV lanes based on the license plate design. There are currently three clean special fuel license plates in use in Virginia. Use of the HOV lanes in northern Virginia, which includes I-394, I-95, and I-66, is limited to certain license plates.
• Information on the use of HOV/HOT lanes by exempt vehicles is somewhat limited. Five states – California, Colorado, Florida, New York, and Virginia – have available data on use of the HOV/HOT lanes by exempt vehicles. Hybrids account for a little over 2 percent of the total vehicles using the I-25 Express Lanes in Denver; 26-to-31 percent of peak hour HOV volumes on the Long Island Expressway in New York; and 10-to-24 percent of total HOV lane volumes on HOV lanes in northern Virginia.

2.2 OTHER EXEMPT VEHICLES

Other exempt vehicles are allowed to use HOV/HOT lanes in most states. These typically include public transit buses with only the driver and marked (rooftop emergency lights and sirens) law enforcement and emergency vehicles with only the driver.

Public transit buses carrying passengers are important elements of most HOV/HOT lanes. Buses are carrying more people in fewer vehicles, adding to the people-moving capacity of HOV, HOT, and managed lanes. Public transit buses with only the driver, which are typically dead-heading or out of service to begin or end service, are allowed to use most HOV, HOT, and managed lanes. This approach provides operating efficiencies and cost savings to the transit agencies and improved service for riders. Issues may arise, however, if taxicabs, airport shuttles, and other private transportation vehicles request the same access. No HOV/HOT lanes have been identified allowing these types of vehicles without meeting the occupancy requirement or paying a toll.

Marked law enforcement and emergency vehicles, which typically include police, sheriff, state patrol, emergency medical services (EMS), and other related vehicles, are allowed to use most HOV/HOT lanes without meeting the occupancy requirements. The use of HOV/HOT facilities by marked law enforcement and emergency vehicles appears to be relatively low and does not appear to be monitored. The use of HOV/HOT lanes by unmarked law enforcement and emergency vehicles or by law enforcement and emergency personnel traveling in their own vehicles was an issue on the HOV lanes in northern Virginia in the early 2000s.

The Code of Virginia provides an HOV exemption for law enforcement, but no specific definition of a law enforcement vehicle is provided in the state statute. The Virginia HOV Enforcement Task Force noted issues with the use of HOV lanes in northern Virginia by off-duty law enforcement and emergency personnel, as well as federal employees who consider themselves law enforcement personnel, traveling to and from work in their personal vehicles. Although the Task Force was not able to determine the number of these individuals, it is recommended that the statute be better defined and that education and outreach efforts be undertaken focused on these individuals. Outreach efforts were initiated which appear to have helped address the issue.