Owners of hybrid vehicles in Colorado who got permission to use high-occupancy vehicle lanes as solo drivers are retaining the privilege on a month-to-month basis as Congress considers a number of new transportation measures.
About 15 months ago, the Colorado Department of Transportation began issuing permits to hybrid owners for driving solo in HOV lanes after the federal Environmental Protection Agency published a list of hybrid vehicles that were eligible.
Federal transportation law allowed for the hybrid-in-HOV option, but that law expired Sept. 30. After Congress passed a one-month extension of the law, CDOT notified hybrid owners that permission to use HOV lanes as solo drivers had been extended through the end of this month.
After this month, “Congress will need to act again on another extension or new bill,” CDOT said in an e-mail to hybrid-permit owners.
Last year, the state said it would issue as many as 2,000 permits for hybrid drivers to use HOV lanes on Interstate 25, U.S. 36 and South Santa Fe Drive in the Denver area, and Colorado 82 near Aspen.
Jeffrey Leib, The Denver Post
