Va. Senate Votes to Let Hybrids Stay in HOV Lanes

RICHMOND, Feb. 1 -- The Virginia Senate passed a bill Wednesday to allow hybrid vehicles to continue using the carpool lanes of state highways until July 1, 2007, despite concerns that they are crowding out the carpoolers.

The bill also would impose higher fines on drivers who violate high-occupancy-vehicle lane rules by driving in them alone.

The two provisions, which would have to be approved by the House and signed into law by the governor, address the hotly debated topic of how best to use highway lanes that have become increasingly popular -- and congested. Carpoolers complain that a flood of hybrids, as well as cheaters, is slowing traffic and reducing their incentive to share rides.

Hybrid owners have special license plates that give them the right to drive in the lanes, which are normally restricted to cars carrying two or more people, but the hybrid exemption is scheduled to lapse July 1.

State transportation officials plan to lobby for an end to the exemption, or at least for a new limit on the number of hybrids allowed to use the lanes. They say keeping the lanes moving is critical to reducing traffic for all drivers because it encourages commuters to carpool or use buses, also permitted in those lanes.

But Sen. Jeannemarie Devolites Davis (R-Fairfax), who sponsored Senate Bill 454, said the hybrid rule has encouraged drivers to buy the low-emissions cars, resulting in improved air quality.

Plus, she said, a new federal law that allows hybrids in carpool lanes bars them if roads get too congested. The Virginia Department of Transportation is in negotiations with federal regulators on what standards to use in deciding when to cap hybrids. "This will allow hybrids in HOV lanes while those discussions go on," she said.

Low-emission cars were first allowed in HOV lanes in 1994, but few drivers took advantage of the exemption until 2000. With the introduction of less expensive hybrids, the numbers have mounted.

"We are at capacity in HOV lanes on I-66 and approaching capacity on 95," said Secretary of Transportation Pierce R. Homer. "We have to find a way to manage that, or the entire transportation network, including our critical transit bus services, will break down."

Homer said that until the federal negotiations are completed, there is no way to know whether the law will prevent the lanes from becoming overwhelmed.

"We need to see the degree of eligibility," he said. "If it's too many vehicles, the HOV lanes will not work. If it's a manageable number, we can find a way to manage it."

The bill, which the Senate approved 35 to 3, also would increase the fine for those caught driving alone in carpool lanes from $50 to $125. Those who violated the rules again within five years would pay $250, up from $200.

Davis said the stiffer penalties may discourage drivers from chancing a ticket, freeing up space for hybrids and carpools.

"I would state that there are far more violators, single drivers, than there are hybrid drivers in those HOV lanes," she said. "That's what we really need to get a handle on."

The bill was opposed by several Northern Virginia senators, who said they were concerned that carpoolers, particularly strangers who organize "slug" lines to form carpools for their commutes into Washington, are being discouraged from using the crowded lanes. Carpoolers have deluged state officials with complaints about traffic jams in HOV lanes.

"As other cars slow down service, it starts to reduce the attractiveness of carpooling," said James K. "Jay" O'Brien Jr. (R-Fairfax).

Staff writer Steven Ginsberg contributed to this report.