Sorry EV drivers, you’re about to lose one of your most-coveted perks.
One of California’s longest-running incentives for people to buy electric cars — a program that provides access to carpool lanes regardless of how many people are in their vehicle — is coming to end. The Clean Air Vehicle decal program expires on Sept. 30.
After that, the colorful stickers that have given drivers of Teslas, Priuses, Leafs, Rivians, and other electric vehicles privileges to cruise along the carpool lane during commute times on congested roads like Highway 101 in Silicon Valley, 880 in the East Bay or the 405 freeway in Los Angeles for nearly 25 years will be shut down and the special perks will end. The details:
When will my EV carpool sticker expire?
Midnight on Sept. 30, statewide.
What happens if I am driving in a carpool lane during restricted hours with no passengers after that?
The CHP can pull you over and write you a ticket. Violations of California’s carpool lanes, also known as diamond lanes, or high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes, carry fines of $490.
“Starting October 1, 2025, you must obey the posted vehicle occupancy requirement to travel in the carpool (HOV) lane or risk receiving a citation and fine,” the California Department of Motor Vehicles said in a statement.
Why is this happening?
For more than 20 years, federal law has allowed states to decide whether they want to grant carpool-lane access to electric vehicles. The original idea was to provide incentives to sell the vehicles, which reduce air pollution and greenhouse gases.
But under the most recent version of the federal law, signed by President Obama in 2015, and called the “Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act,” those permissions expire on Sept. 30. Republicans who have majorities in the House and Senate have not reauthorized the program, and President Trump has taken steps this year already to end federal tax credits for electric vehicles, and to block a California law requiring all new vehicles sold in the state starting in 2035 be electric.
Can California do anything about it?
No. Last year, a Southern California Republican, Assemblyman Greg Wallis of Rancho Mirage, wrote a bill, AB 2678, to extend California’s EV carpool decal program until Jan. 1, 2027. It passed with large bipartisan majorities in Sacramento. Gov. Gavin Newsom signed it into law last September. But it won’t take effect unless Congress reauthorizes the program.
There are still three weeks left. Is there any chance Congress will save the program?
Not likely. There is an outside chance that House leaders could jam language at the last minute into a large continuing resolution as part of a compromise to keep funding the federal government after Sept. 30, but experts watching the issue don’t expect it.
“I would put the chances of reauthorization as very slim,” said Bill Magavern, policy director for the Coalition for Clean Air, an environmental group.
Will my EV sticker still get me discounted or free tolls for bridges and in high occupancy toll (HOT) lanes?
No. Starting Oct. 1, the FasTrak CAV toll tag will automatically switch to a regular FasTrak Flex tag, and the driver will be charged full tolls for bridges and express lanes unless vehicles meet carpool occupancy rules.
What’s the main argument in favor of letting the carpool tags expire?
When the program first began, after former Gov. Gray Davis signed AB 71, a law written by former Republican Assemblyman Jim Cunneen of San Jose in 1999, less than 2% of the cars on the road were electric. Last year in California, 25.3% of the new vehicles sold were electric, according to the California Energy Commission.
In some counties, the number is even higher. In Santa Clara County, a stunning 43.8% of new passenger vehicles purchased last year were “zero emission” — basically electric or plug-in hybrid. In Marin County, it was 40.1%; Alameda County 37.7%; Contra Costa County 32.7%; San Mateo County 25.3% and San Francisco 35.6%. It was 31% in Orange County, and 26.5% in Los Angeles County.
“We think it’s time to return carpool lanes to the carpools. It’s fine for the program to expire,” said Magavern, whose group does not support the program continuing.
Who supports continuing the carpool perk?
Some environmental groups do, along with the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, an industry group of automakers, and the California Air Resources Board.
The air board argues that despite huge improvements in recent decades, California still has some of the nation’s dirtiest air (mostly in Southern California and the San Joaquin Valley), and for the state to reach its clean air and greenhouse gas goals, more electric vehicles need to keep entering the roads.
What are the ramifications of this change? How will it affect traffic?
Nobody knows for sure. It could add more vehicles to the regular lanes, increasing traffic. It could cause more people to ride to work with others so they can stay in the carpool lane. It might further depress EV sales. They have dipped this year, led by Tesla, the top-selling EV nationwide and in California, in part because many potential buyers in largely Democratic states where the most EVs are purchased are unhappy with Tesla CEO Elon Musk providing $250 million to President Trump’s campaign and helping him fire federal workers through his DOGE program.
Do I have to remove the decal from my vehicle on October 1, 2025?
No. If you want you can take it off. Or you can leave it as a souvenir of a bygone era.
