Delegegates Betray Us - Extend Hybrids

All diesels can burn biodiesel. Rode in this morn in a Jetta TDI. Gets 50mpg (sound familiar?). Doesn't qualify for CF plates.

All cars can burn a mix of 85% petro/15% ethanol, but it's only distributed in select cities that have mandated it's usage. Why not nationally? Because we don't have a domestic energy policy to support our international policies.

Many auto manufacturers already sell popular models that run on ethanol. Sold mostly as fleet vehicles. Costs about $4k more per vehicle. Better than the gas/elec combo that has a lot more cost to it than that.

NoSb

SOV because you can, HOV because you care!

BTW, politicians vote for the laws that they are paid to vote for. And who do you think pays for favorable laws? Who do you think carries more weight in congress, us or the auto lobby? When the lobbists for petro fuel call Richmond, do you think there is a politician that would not take that call? What about you or I? Just because they support the exemption does not make it right!

duckdugger - the logical and reasonable extention of your question leads one to wonder why you aren't taking public transportation. After all, isn't HOV-40 better than HOV-3? What are YOU doing about going by bus?

quote:

---

Originally posted by Beckie5
[br]I think that the voters should vote. Not voting in a poll, but vote to elect or not to elect the Hybrid allowance. I do not believe that Richmond is putting the interest of the voters first.

---

The voters HAVE voted. Unlike California, where elected representatives abdicate their responsibilities, we voted for people and empowered them to represent our opinions. I polled all of the candidates asking for my vote on the hybrid exemption and intended to use that as a criteria for my vote. It didn't help since every one of them supported extention.

quote:

---

Originally posted by James-G
[br]I am outraged that this would pass the Senate when it is so clear that hyprids are choking the HOV lanes. I have writen to my House Delegate strongly encouraging her to oppose this bill. I don't think it is too late for us to stop this. There are many more Sluggers, Carpoolers, and Bus riders than hyprid owners. James

---

Great to hear that reasonable heads are prevailing in the VA Assembly...A compromise solution has always been the correct path for hybrids using the HOV lanes in VA....Ending legislation because it's been too successful??? that's bassackwards...also, too much congestion in the regular lanes....where would you put the additional cars??

I commute daily using a Civic Hybrid on the HOV lanes (after 7:30 in the am and before 5:00 in the pm, hov-2 and alone ) and continue to be struck by the assertion of sluggers, vanpoolers, etc.that the HOV lanes are overcrowded (some commuters on pro-slugging websites even claim, ridiculously so, that there's often more congestion in HOV vs. non-HOV...). If these people were being honest, they would tell you that with the exception of bottlenecks at two points in the HOV corridor (beginning at Edsell Rd. through the Springfield Interchange where ALL vehicles are allowed to enter HOV and the Eads St. exit at the Pentagon) traffic moves at a steady pace of 65+ miles an hour. If anything, I would contend that the HOV lanes along the I-95 corridor are underutilized given the extreme congestion problems experienced in non-HOV lanes.

An article by "Dr. Gridlock" (Ron Shaffer) of the Washington Post echo's my sentiment and it seems the majority of users in HOV lanes; In the
article he asked readers for their counts and opinions of hybrid vehicles in the HOV-3 lanes. The consensus among readers was that there is not a
congestion problem outside of the bottlenecks mentioned above and that hybrids should continue to be allowed for this use...The following were
some of the conclusions drawn and a link to the article:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A46042-2005Feb23.html

Given the above, not to mention the fuel crisis we're in here in America, the move toward HOT lanes along I-95 and overall support of the hybrid exemption (see below), extending the exemption in one form or another is the only logical course of action.....

Other Facts
The Washington Post conducted a scientific survey of attitudes toward hybrids and the use of HOV lanes in VA. "In a recent Washington Post poll, 56 percent
of Northern Virginians said single-person hybrid vehicles should be allowed to use carpool lanes, and 43 percent said they should not. Across the
region, 53 percent said they should be allowed and 45 percent said they should not. To measure attitudes toward commuting, The Post interviewed 1,003 randomly selected adults in the Washington area Jan. 27 to 31." 2005

In addition, national polling favors hybrid use in HOV-lanes; MSNBC poll did poll similar to the Washington Post....70% support the hybrid exemption in
HOV....1682 people were polled...(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A54561-2005Jan6.html
)...