GregH
Well-known member
Check cleared Monday (exactly 6 weeks after I mailed it), stickers arrived today (Thursday).. yeah!GregH said:
Wait time for California DMV carpool stickers?
- Thread starter LTSkier
- Start date
Help Support My Nissan Leaf Forum:
Nubo said:I'm not even sure more people is the answer. Sounds more like foot-dragging to me. Does it take any more effort to perpetually stay 1 month behind than to stay perpetually 2 months behind? Does a long delay make the forms somehow easier to process? Just how long does it take to process one of these forms?
If the trickle of forms is really this difficult to handle, one can only imagine the queue as EV adoption grows!
I wonder if the EV exemption sticker applications are done on a batch basis by a group that does other relatively low volume paperwork, such as disabled placards? For example, a month of EV stickers, then a month on disabled placards, etc?
bobsfreeleaf
Well-known member
Congrats on getting yours! In LA/OC I can't imagine driving the freeways without the HOV stickers. I'm in San Diego now, but grew up in LA/OC, and remember the nightmare, especially in that Riverside/L.A. commute. I could easily see the cost of leasing the Leaf being LESS than just the cost of the access fees, for heavy HOV users. I would think the Leaf's would be flying off the shelfs there. Funny how someone would rather be inching through traffic in their Mustang COBRA, rather than sailing through the HOV's in their free Leaf. Image is everything; :x Obey the T.V :twisted: .. You know... :lol: Take care, BobGregH said:
bobsfreeleaf said:
If you're implying that the Leaf will automatically get you free access to LA Metro's HOV lanes, you're incorrect. Metro does not give any discounts to EV drivers; the only way to use the I-110 and I-10 preferential lanes for free is to have the minimum number of people in the car, which is usually 2, but sometimes 3. You still have to have a Fastrak transponder as well, and although any Fastrak transponder will be recognized (even those from the Bay Area), if you want to get the HOV discount you have to use Metro's own Fastrak which has a switch to indicate how many people are in the car (solo, 2, 3+).
For the 91 Express Lanes, you can get a special transponder for EVs that let you drive for free, except M-F 4-6 PM in the eastbound direction in which you get a 50% discount. But on the rest of Orange County's toll roads, EVs don't get any special breaks on the tolls.
Even the Bay Area bridges don't let EV's travel for free, even if every seat is occupied..
LEAFer
Well-known member
Does a Tesla Roadster with only two seats, both filled, get the benefit in a 3+ lane ?
LEAFer
Well-known member
Thanks for the reference.RonDawg said:
I was more curious, however, about the statement you made regarding minimum occupancy ...
With two people the car is "full" ... if the requirement is 3 .... then what ? :lol:RonDawg said:
LEAFer said:
If the two seater does not have the white or green HOV exemption stickers on the rear, this is from http://www.dot.ca.gov/hq/traffops/systemops/hov/hov_sys/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
So only in the Bay Area could a fully-occupied 2 seater meet the 3+ requirement. Here in LA, there used to be signs along I-10 saying that such vehicles met the 3+ requirement but they are now gone; I guess this is the reason why.
Motorcyclists can still drive 3+ lanes solo however, as are certain types of buses.
LEAFer
Well-known member
There ... THAT is what I was looking for, THANKS !
RonDawg said:
TomT
Well-known member
It depends on where you live in L.A. On my 40 mile round-trip commute to work, there are almost no HOV lanes and won't be for many years... And the few that do exist are nearly as congested as the regular lanes.
bobsfreeleaf said:
TomT
Well-known member
Such an excellent command of the King's English... :lol:
BayArea said:
bobsfreeleaf
Well-known member
RonDawg said:
Too bad. Who would have thougt the award of an HOV sticker to get access to HOV lanes, does not! I guess I should count my blessing here in San Diego. Our Fastrak I 15 lane flies most days (actually too fast for me, trying to go 65). I have seen so many posts of people buying the car for the HOV sticker. It shows you should do your homework. Thanks for the clarification. Bob
bobsfreeleaf said:
Yup, you have to do your homework. Otherwise at best it will be money wasted, at worst you can get a really expensive ticket.
It gets confusing because except for the 91 Express Lanes, which were purpose built, the lanes being converted to preferential were formerly HOV-only lanes. So one day an EV can drive on them solo, the next day you need a Fastrak. Just as confusing is how the different systems handle true HOV discounts; for the 91 Express, there is a special lane at the toll plaza for you to enter, but for Metro, you have to use their special Fastrak with a switch that indicates solo, 2, or 3+ in the car. But that white or green sticker doesn't give you free access to those lanes.
Even more confusing is that you can pay to drive solo on 91 Express or I-110, but I-10 still has signs posted saying you have to be HOV-2 (or 3 depending on the time) to be in those lanes even though the overhead signs show differences in pricing between solo and HOV :roll:
bobsfreeleaf
Well-known member
Too bad. Who would have thougt the award of an HOV sticker to get access to HOV lanes, does not! I guess I should count my blessing here in San Diego. Our Fastrak I 15 lane flies most days (actually too fast for me, trying to go 65). I have seen so many posts of people buying the car for the HOV sticker. It shows you should do your homework. Thanks for the clarification. Bob[/quote]
Hard to believe you guys are still basically driving the same freeway system that existed when the Beatles were playing at the Hollywood Bowl :shock:..... But now we build a bullet train to Bakersfield. :lol:..... Guess I shouldn't laugh, it's paid for with my tax dollars, and it doesn't even stop in San Diego. :?
edatoakrun
Well-known member
I applied for my stickers ~2/20/13, They were postmarked 4/10- the day I left home for my Bay Area LEAF trip...
On the positive side, I won't have to put them on, and uglyfy my LEAF, until the next time I travel the ~200 miles south, to the nearest HOV lanes.
On the positive side, I won't have to put them on, and uglyfy my LEAF, until the next time I travel the ~200 miles south, to the nearest HOV lanes.
cwerdna
Well-known member
Roadshow: DMV backlog keeps drivers out of the carpool lane:
http://www.mercurynews.com/mr-roadshow/ci_23054519/roadshow-lane-closing-causes-commuter-grief-richmond-bridge?source=rss" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; (published 4/19/13)
http://www.mercurynews.com/mr-roadshow/ci_23054519/roadshow-lane-closing-causes-commuter-grief-richmond-bridge?source=rss" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; (published 4/19/13)
thankyouOB
Well-known member
gee. if you cut the budget, stop hiring and in effect cut staff, and add forced furloughs, the DMV runs more slowly. who would have thought that would happen?
I just got back home after being away from a week, and noticed my HOV stickers were in my mailbox waiting for me. YAY! It would be 3 months after I bought my car, and a bit more than 2 months after I got my license plates.
Not so YAY!: the number and size of those stickers. I can see ONE on the right side of the bumper, similar to the inspection stickers you see on Hawaiian-plated cars. But three? And why do the ones on the sides have to be so enormous?
Not so YAY!: the number and size of those stickers. I can see ONE on the right side of the bumper, similar to the inspection stickers you see on Hawaiian-plated cars. But three? And why do the ones on the sides have to be so enormous?
leafedbehind
Well-known member
I got my Fit EV in November 2012. It took over three months to get the plates, then almost two more months to get the carpool stickers, which arrived yesterday.
