A new era in commuting begins today for clean-air vehicles with new rules that kick solo drivers out of California carpool lanes and uncertainty over how it will impact commute times and traffic.
As of Aug. 14, more than half a million motorists statewide had an active decal on their vehicle to access carpool lanes. California has an estimated 1,171 carpool lane-miles, with 803 miles in Southern California and 366 miles in Northern California, according to a UC Berkeley study.
With more than 35 million total registered vehicles in California, that means 1% to 2% of the vehicle fleet will lose access to the carpool lane, said Antonio Bento, professor of public policy and economics at USC…