Arizona drivers with alternate-fuel vehicles could lose HOV lane privileges on Oct. 1

Anyone who bought an alternative-fuel vehicles at least in part because it would ease the daily commute is going to find that coming to an end.

The Arizona Department of Transportation said the end is near for a 2005 federal law that allowed drivers of these cars and trucks to use high occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes regardless of the number of occupants.

Unless Congress acts before Oct. 1 to pass another extension, the statute will expire.

That's not an issue in rural areas, nor in Pima County, where the freeways have no HOV lanes. But it does affect metro Phoenix as well as Pinal and Yavapai counties — who hope to avoid being stuck in gridlock every morning and afternoon.

Solo occupants of these vehicles who are found in those lanes are subject to fines of at least $400. And that doesn't include a host of surcharges that can increase the bite.

How many are going to lose that ability to bypass rush-hour traffic jams? ADOT doesn't have county-by-county breakdowns.

But the agency says nearly 160,000 vehicles have those special blue and white plates that designate them as using alternate fuel. And a spokesman said that, given the privileges that have existed until now, he assumes the vast majority of those cars and trucks are in the Phoenix metro area.

The reason federal law matters is that federal dollars have been used to build these extra lanes.
Originally authorized in the 1970s, they were designed to increase interest in ridesharing, something that increased during the Arab oil embargo. And that meant at least two people in a vehicle during certain hours — in Arizona, between 6 and 9 a.m. and 3 and 7 p.m.

It took until 2005 for Congress to extend that to alternate fuel vehicles with only the driver onboard. That list now includes cars and trucks operated on everything from alcohol, natural gas, propane, hydrogen and fuels derived from biological materials. Also qualifying are electric vehicles with have a

Adding those single-occupancy vehicles was supposed to be only temporary. But Congress has since extended it.

A spokesman for the Department of Public Safety, whose officers patrol all of the roads with HOV lanes in Arizona, declined to say whether there will be a grace period. Instead, Bart Graves said troopers always have discretion and "will weigh severity, safety and context."

The timing of all this could not be worse for electric vehicle dealers.

Sept. 30 is the last day for buyers of these cars and trucks to qualify for a $7,500 federal tax credit. Also gone will be the $4,000 credit for used vehicles sold by dealers for $25,000 or less.