Hybrids Hook Virginia With Another Hook

Virginia was looking for a hook more than a decade ago that would convince motorists to buy low-polluting vehicles. The solution: Allow drivers of so-called "cleaner cars" with low emissions to travel in car pool lanes without passengers.

Initially, few drivers took advantage of the perk. In 2000, hybrid cars were included. Since then, the number of hybrids in the car pool lanes has soared. But so has the resentment from other drivers who complain their commute is becoming increasingly congested.

Virginia transportation officials and lawmakers hope a new law solves the problem. Starting July 1, hybrids purchased after June 30 will not be exempt from car pool rules governing 95 and 395. Solo hybrid drivers on other highways will still be allowed in the lanes until July 1, 2007.

Hybrids are "contributing to the eroding performance on I-95 & I-395," Deputy Secretary of Transportation Ralph Davis said.

While the buying deadline has drivers scrambling to purchase hybrids at the last minute, some dealers are concerned that sales could soon drop off.

Kam Qureshi, the sales manager at Hendrick Honda in Woodbridge, said motorists had been willing to pay $2,500 or more over the manufacturer's suggested retail price for the privileges that come with driving a hybrid. "For every 50 people who bought (a hybrid), maybe one bought it for the reason Honda actually built it," Qureshi said. "In the next month, we'll see who the real environmentalists are."

According to VDOT, about 2,500 drivers had registered hybrids in Virginia. Today the total is about 10,000 in April 2003.

A survey by the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments said Prince William County led all Washington-area counties with nearly 15 hybrids per 1,000 households, well above the national average of 3.3. The urgency to get a hybrid before the end of the month is no surprise to some officials.

"I know this is a sensitive matter," said Dennis Morrison, northern Virginia administrator for VDOT. "The commute in northern Virginia is so tough that any leg up you get, you don't want to lose it."

To help authorities know which cars are exempt, drivers buying a hybrid beginning July 1 will be given different license plates. The new plates are blue and have the "clean special fuel" logo on the opposite side of existing plates, which are white. Police also are increasing fines for car pool violators during rush hours in an attempt to curb congestion. A first offense will cost $125, up from $50. A second offense will cost $250 instead of $200, and drivers will receive three points on their licenses. Fines for third and fourth offenses remain the same at $500 and $1,000.

But it is the end of the hybrid exemption rule that seems to be provoking the most emotion from drivers. Some hybrid owners argue more of the electricity and gas-fueled cars should still use the carpool lanes because traffic still moves better than in the regular lanes.

"There's still room in the express lanes for more vehicles," said Dick Tobey of Annandale, who says it takes 25 minutes to get from Annandale to Navy Yard using the HOV lane on I-395 compared to a drive that could take well over 40 minutes in regular lanes. "We're certainly not at the tipping point yet." Tobey, who bought his hybrid in 2002, said the change in the law will just make the drive in the other lanes even worse and even more congested.