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Crosscurrents

Why most electric cars will lose carpool lane rights

Eli Wirtschafter
/
KALW News
Green and white Clean Air Vehicle decals will expire next year.

On January 1, over 200,000 drivers of electric and plug-in vehicles will lose the right to take the fast lane solo. It’s an effort to speed up carpool lanes that misses the real culprit: cheaters.

"If you could eliminate the cars that are using the lane illegally, that would make a much bigger difference than phasing out some electric cars."

KALW’s Hana Baba spoke to transportation reporter Eli Wirtschafter.

Is your car eligible to get a new red sticker? Find out the details here.
 

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Eli is a key member of KALW’s senior leadership team, managing our day-to-day operations so that KALW can deliver high-quality journalism, storytelling, and public service at scale. Eli is a proud graduate of Berkeley High School, UC Berkeley, and most importantly, KALW’s Audio Academy. He served as the director of our Uncuffed prison radio training program from 2019 to 2025, overseeing the launch of the Uncuffed podcast, the Uncuffed Playlist DJ program, our expansion to the California Institution for Women, and our investment in formerly incarcerated leadership.