Bay Area impact of Clean Air Vehicle Decal Program ending this week

BURLINGAME, Calif. (KRON) — The Clean Air Vehicle Decal Program, which allowed electric vehicle drivers to use carpool lanes and pay lower tolls, will end at midnight on Tuesday in the Bay Area.

The program’s expiration means that drivers of clean air vehicles will no longer be able to drive alone in carpool lanes or benefit from half-priced tolls. This change comes as the federal government has not renewed the program.

“On Wednesday, they will be obliged to play by the same occupancy rules that everybody else does,” said John Goodwin of the Metropolitan Transportation Commission.

With more people returning to the office, Bay Area commutes are slowing down again. Those driving clean air vehicles with the requisite decals have avoided some of the sluggishness by taking the carpool lane even if driving alone. But that perk ends Tuesday at midnight.

While there will be a 60-day grace period, drivers who have used the perk are disappointed the program is ending.

Right now, just 51,000 people in the Bay Area have clean air decals, with just about a thousand crossing the Bay Bridge each day. The MTC doesn’t think that will be enough to slow down the overall commute.

But if it does, there is another option. Casual carpooling relaunched in the Bay Area last month in Oakland and will expand to Berkeley and Emeryville this week.

With the end of the Clean Air Vehicle Decal Program, electric vehicle drivers will need to adjust to new commuting rules. The introduction of casual carpooling may offer an alternative for those affected by the changes.

All facts in this report were gathered by journalists employed by KRON4. Artificial intelligence tools were used to reformat from a broadcast script into a news article for our website. This report was edited and fact-checked by KRON4 staff before being published.