California electric-vehicle drivers will lose carpool lane privileges

[usonian]

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2025-09-10/california-ev-drivers-will-lose-carpool-lane-privileges

I encountered no paywall.
Otherwise: https://archive.ph/ztUOu

Beginning Oct. 1, motorists with a Clean Air Vehicle decal will no longer be able to drive solo in carpool lanes because the program was not extended by the federal government, according to the California Department of Motor Vehicles.

The carpool benefit was promoted as a cost-effective incentive to encourage Californians to buy clean and zero-emission vehicles. More than a million motorists have applied for the decal since it became available more than two decades ago. There are roughly a half million vehicles in California with active decals, allowing them to use the carpool lane alone. Last month, the DMV stopped issuing new decals and warned that the program could be ending.

Extending the program would have required approval from Congress and President Trump.

“A Trump traffic jam is on its way to California and other states — all because Republicans in Congress decided to let a wildly successful bipartisan program expire,” Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a statement. “That’s Trump’s America: more traffic, more smog and a government more committed to slashing proven programs than solving real problems.”

[MichMan]

1. Won't it free up the carpool lane for those who are, you know, actually carpooling?