Just got a letter from the DMV about the HOV stickers expiring in July. Was surprised to see that there won't be another HOV program until sometime in 2012. Why not just extend our perk until then? Time to write my senator! Will miss it (48 mile drive, all freeway).

 

They already extended the yellow sticker program to July 2011 from December 2010. It has been a great five years for me in the HOV lane. Time to get a Nissan Leaf I guess. Better yet, The Aptera would work the best since you wouldn't need a sticker at all.

 

I'd even be willing to pay a "reasonable" yearly "fee" to continue the privilege (much cheaper than a new car!)

 

I, too, would have paid a renewal fee. If CA decided to charge $100, $200, or even $300 to renew the use of the sticker, I would have been on board. With about 85,000 stickers issued, let's assume 50% would renew. The state would have been able to generate $4,250,000 (42,500 renewals x $100) on my conservative estimate.

I have been experiementing with different routes and times of day to travel on the freeways over the past couple of weeks. On one of my routes, the difference was only about 15 minutes. Not too bad.

Another car to consider would be the Tesla Roadster. All electric. No sticker needed.

NGV or CNG vehicles could also be a consideration.