HOV Use Makes Hybrids Attractive to Buyers September 2004

Forget social responsibility. When it comes to buying hybrid cars, some northern Virginians have rush hour in mind.

"People will do anything to save 20 to 40 minutes. That's why some people purchase them. They could care less that it's a hybrid," said Richard Strickland, a manager at Rosenthal Honda. He attributes the popularity of hybrid vehicles to state laws allowing single drivers to use high occupancy vehicle lanes and also get a tax break.

According to Ryan Hall--a spokesman for the Virginia Department of Transportation who drives a 2001 Toyota Prius himself--in the fall of 2003, four percent of the vehicles traveling the Interstate 95 HOV lanes were hybrids. By last spring, the figure doubled to eight percent. Of the 6,000 vehicles in the HOV lanes during the morning commute along I-95, about 500 are hybrids.

"We have proved people will respond to incentives to purchase high mileage vehicles," said Commonwealth Transportation Board member Kate Hanley, whose husband bought a 2002 Prius. Using the HOV lane saved him about one hour a day on his commute from Reston to Washington, D.C., she said.

Currently, Virginia is alone in allowing hybrids--which run on gas and electric--to use HOV lanes.

Maryland allows Inherently Low Emission Vehicles to use HOV lanes, but Prius and Honda Civic hybrids don't qualify under the law passed in 2002 by the Maryland General Assembly.

The Federal Highway Administration has ruled the Virginia law violates federal regulations. The Virginia HOV exemption expires July 1, 2006 and it may take an act of Congress to reinstate it. Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., introduced legislation in 2003 to allow states to open HOV lanes to hybrids, but a transportation subcommittee has yet to hold a hearing on the matter.

If the HOV incentive runs out, there is concern whether the savings on gas will be enough to keep the popularity of these vehicles high.

State Sen. Mary Margaret Whipple, D-Arlington, said she waited about six months to get her 2003 hybrid. She said air quality was her main motive, and believes that will still be "strong motivation for a certain number of people."

Del. Ken Plum, D-Reston, sponsored a state law this past session to exempt hybrids from emissions tests, and said he plans to lobby Congress to move Issa's bill allowing states to let hybrids use HOV lanes.

"I'm hopeful that legislation will move so we won't have federal interference in what I believe is good policy," Plum said.

If that doesn't work, he will drive his 2003 hybrid to Richmond to introduce state legislation to extend the Virginia law.

SOURCE: Daily Press

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