The Colorado Department of Transportation on Tuesday issued guidelines for allowing up to 2,000 hybrid and alternative-fuel vehicles to use high-occupancy vehicle and high-occupancy toll lanes — even if the vehicles are occupied by just the driver.
The guidelines still need approvals from the state Department of Revenue and the Federal Highway Administration, said CDOT spokeswoman Stacey Stegman.
Those approvals are expected, and after they are obtained, hybrid vehicles with just the driver may be able to use the lanes as early as this spring, Stegman said.
CDOT’s rules will cover high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes on Interstate 25, U.S. 36 and South Santa Fe Drive in the Denver area and on Colorado 82 between Aspen and Glenwood Springs.
The high-occupancy toll (HOT) lanes, where single-occupant cars can buy their way into HOV lanes, are on I-25 between downtown Denver and U.S. 36.
Last year, the Environmental Protection Agency published tentative rules to govern hybrids operating in HOV lanes, and CDOT will follow the federal guidelines, Stegman said.
Hybrid owners will need to apply to CDOT for a sticker for their vehicles to gain access to the special lanes, and the state will issue motorists an electronic transponder so the agency can monitor speeds and traffic volumes of the hybrids, Stegman said.
Hybrid owners can e-mail CDOT at info@dot.state.co.us to get on a list of those who wish to be notified by the agency when they can sign up for the hybrid/HOV stickers, Stegman said.
The EPA’s draft list of hybrid and alternative-fuel vehicles that are eligible to use the HOV lanes is posted at -hwy/hov/ drafteligiblevehicles.pdf.
Jeffrey Leib: 303-954-1645 or jleib@denverpost.com
