No longer can a person drive by themselves in the HOV lane even with the colored stickers that gave access to the lane. From now on only high occupancy vehicles(HOV) may drive in the HOV lane.

California ended the Clean Air Vehicle (CAV) decal program on Oct. 1, 2025 after congress did not approve an extension. California needs congressional approval since highways are federally operated. The program began in 1999 to encourage drivers to buy low emissions vehicles.

Cars with CAV decals have until the end of November to drive in the lane. The extra time is a grace period by CHP for drivers. After that date CHP will enforce the new rules and give a citation to any vehicles found breaking the rules. For most bay area highways the HOV lane would be two or more people but for some like the bay bridge or I-880 it could be three or more.

Since the program started more than 1,000,000 drivers received a decal for a vehicle. A 2014 study from UC Davis found more than 50% of prius owners from the Bay Area bought the vehicle just to drive in the HOV lane in Los Angeles it is over 60%. In 2023 USC found that zip codes with high percentage of EVs had lower percentage of nitrogen dioxide found in the air. Nitrogen dioxide is an air pollutant that is found to be a contributor in respiratory diseases.

The effects on traffic this will have can not be understood until the new rule is officially in practice. Another trend to watch for is the sales of electric and hybrid vehicles will they continue to grow or remain stable with less incentive for the California driver. The expectation is that the lane will be less occupied but how will the influx of vehicles into the other lanes change travel time. Unfortunately this will be in practice during the holidays. So better to travel with family or friends so you can use the HOV lane too.