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Half a million Californian drivers have Clear Air decals
Half a million Californian drivers have Clear Air decals, and now, that program is going away.
FREMONT, Calif. - The Clean Air Vehicle decal program is ending in California, which means those stickers will no longer allow electric vehicles in the carpool lane.
Program ends Sept. 30
Tuesday is the last day those decals will get EV drivers in the carpool lane or express lane. As of Wednesday, drivers must have enough people in their car in order to use the carpool lane.
The stickers were an incentive to get people to buy clean-air vehicles. In fact, drivers of hybrids and electric cars with one driver have been allowed to use California's carpool lanes since 2001. That also meant reduced tolls for those drivers.
Half a million California drivers
To date, there are more than half a million California drivers with such a sticker, and Caltrans said the Bay Area has some of the highest number of decal registrations in the state.
Eeraj Abdul Rahindai said he didn't even get a sticker when he bought a new Tesla.
"Unfortunately, when I bought this car I wanted to apply for one, but when they said it was going to end, I said why should I bother to apply for it?" he said.
Suresh Tangore, who also owns a Tesla, asked rhetorically what can he do about it?
"It is messed up," he said. "Our policies are that way, right? So we can’t do much."
EV tax credit to expire September 30
In a major hit to the auto industry, the Trump administration's so-called ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ is killing the $7,500 federal tax credit on purchases of electric vehicles at the end of the month.
Trump killed EV program
Even though Gov. Gavin Newsom tried to extend the program through 2027, the Trump administration said no, and is ending it.
The Trump administration's "Big, Beautiful Bill," rolled back $7,500 in tax credits for EV purchases.
60-day grace period
There will be a 60-day grace period, so carpool-lane EV drivers won't get tickets immediately.
But after those 60 days, if drivers are caught in the carpool lane without actually having enough people in the car, they face a nearly $500 ticket.