SAN RAFAEL, CA – California “clean air vehicle” stickers are seen on hybrid vehicles in San Rafael, California. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
Getty Images
At the start of this month, California ended the rules allowing qualifying electric, plug-in hybrid, and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles to use carpool (HOV) lanes with a single occupant. This program, which began over 25 years ago to encourage drivers to switch from combustion engines to zero- and low-emission vehicles, impacts over 500,000 vehicles. Now, these drivers must use regular lanes when traveling alone. Are EV owners frustrated? Do drivers of combustion vehicles care? What effect will this have on traffic? To explore these questions, I spoke with drivers in Los Angeles and an industry expert for their insights.
The Clean Air Vehicle (CAV) program was enacted in California in 1999 as Assembly Bill 71. It was designed to encourage drivers to give up their smog-producing combustion cars, trucks, and SUVs and lease or purchase zero- and low-emission vehicles. The program offered a big incentive for drivers in traffic-choked cities like San Francisco, Los Angeles, Sacramento, and San Diego—the opportunity to drive solo in a carpool lane and shave precious time off their stressful commutes.
Over the years, the program evolved to eventually offer colored Clean Air Vehicle decals that were permanently registered to a vehicle and affixed to the rear bumpers for easy identification by law enforcement. The decals were dated, with three- or four-year (non-renewable) expiration dates, thus increasing the resale value and appeal of a used vehicle with one or more years left of HOV access. “Back when the California HOV lane started for hybrids in 2005, buying a Prius was called ‘buying a sticker with a Prius attached to it’ and when it ended for new hybrids, but legacy cars (with stickers) were selling on the used car market they were $4,000 to $5,000 more than a similar Prius without the sticker,” noted Anton Wahlman, analyst at Seeking Alpha.
The program has been winding down for months. The California DMV stopped accepting applications for new CAV decals on August 29, 2025, and the existing decals became invalid on October 1. However, law enforcement has extended a 60-day grace period—solo offenders won’t be ticketed until December 1, 2025 (drivers face infraction citations up to $490).
Los Angeles, CA – A driver rides the carpool lane in a Tesla on the 405 Freeway in Los Angeles. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz/MediaNews Group/Los Angeles Daily News via Getty Images)
MediaNews Group via Getty Images
As expected, many residents of California are frustrated, both as drivers of EVs and combustion vehicles, for various reasons.
Many drivers in the state found the program flawed because it offered HOV lane access to vehicles that didn’t fit the original intent of a carpool lane. “From an environmental point of view, there’s probably nothing worse than a three-ton EV with a single occupant. This privilege should have been tanked long ago,” stated Jens M. He’s not alone in celebrating the end of the CAV decal program. “It’s over? Good. Seems fair to me,” exclaimed Mark M., the owner of a Jeep Wrangler. “Just because you have an electric car, you don’t deserve special treatment to drive in the carpool lane,” said Shannon M. “It’s already frustrating that the carpool lane gets backed up because of electric cars and/or single drivers when I’m actually carpooling with friends. So, I personally don’t mind the program ending. The carpool lane is for carpool only.”
“Los Angeles has the largest fleet of electric vehicles in the nation, as well as the worst traffic,” explains Karl Brauer, Executive Analyst at iSeeCars.com. “A lot of Southern California residents bought EVs over the past 10 years to escape freeway congestion. Now all those vehicles just got dumped back into the primary lanes. Traditional carpoolers will love this shift; every other freeway commuter is going to hate it. It will also have a negative impact on electric vehicle values because a large component of their demand has vanished.”
“As someone who drives a combustion vehicle without a carpool sticker, every vehicle in the carpool lane represents one less vehicle in the regular lanes,” notes Colleen L., the owner of a Lincoln Navigator. “Now those vehicles are going to be in my lanes, increasing congestion and reducing my fuel economy. I can only hope that the two-passenger requirement for the carpool lane encourages more people to double-up. I’m crossing my fingers but not holding my breath… not in LA.” Kurt J., another combustion vehicle owner, was more to the point. “I’d be livid if I were one of the EV buyers who made their purchase decision based on access to the carpool lanes.”
Patrick O. is an EV owner who participated in the program. “I am a little upset because I paid to have that sticker specifically for this purpose (it was only a one-time $20 fee, but still). I understand why they are ending it. Initially, this was a perk to motivate people to buy EVs. Now, millions of people in California own EVs, so it really is unnecessary. As a result, I can tell you from daily personal experience, the carpool lane is just as slow as every other lane on the 405. Maybe this will spur people to carpool again, which will put fewer cars on the road and make traffic better!”
“The entire concept was flawed, but I was happy to have a sticker,” summarized David S., a fellow EV owner. “Clearly, the EV/hybrid lobby was very powerful as they got stickers plus massive tax incentives and even convinced the entire automotive industry that ICE engines needed to be phased out.” But the process was wrong, he explains, as it artificially inflated EV sales—sometimes erroneously. “Somebody woke up and realized that not everyone needs an EV. While they make lots of sense in many applications, like local deliveries or densely populated areas with a robust charging infrastructure, they don’t work on road trips, extremely cold environments, or rural areas.”
It seems that eliminating the program will negatively impact both Clean Air Vehicle owners and combustion vehicle owners, as they both find themselves driving back in the congested primary lanes. But there is a winner. Traditional carpoolers—vehicles with two or more occupants, regardless of the powertrain—will find themselves commuting in less crowded lanes as half a million drivers move to the primary traffic channels.
And those driving around California with a useless HOV sticker on their rear bumper—engineered with a security “void” layer in the adhesive that’s hard to remove to deter theft and reuse—likely mirror Ashley B.’s frustration. The owner of two EVs voiced a question that many of the 500,000 Clean Air Vehicle (CAV) owners now share: “How do we get these ugly HOV stickers off?”