Carpool Passes Go Fast

The state has so far received 74,108 applications for an allotment of 75,000 decals permitting hybrid owners to drive solo in HOV lanes.

A day after he signed the papers on his new metallic-blue Honda Civic hybrid, Steve Giang was rushing Thursday to file a different kind of paperwork.

Like many hybrid owners, Giang was seeking special decals from the state allowing him to take advantage of a top perk of owning the fuel-efficient car: the right to drive solo in freeway carpool lanes.

Only a year after the program was introduced, state officials are perhaps weeks away from capping the number of special permits for hybrid cars to drive in the state’s high-occupancy vehicle lanes.

Officials set a maximum of 75,000 permits. And as of Thursday, they had received 74,108 applications and issued 62,355 permits.

LA Times