Hybrid Car Owners Incentives in San Francisco Bay Area California

Owners of alternative fuel vehicles (AFV) or hybrid cars in California may no longer receive incentives offered by the State of California due to recent budget cuts; however, they can still receive federal tax deduction of $2,000 if they purchase their hybrids before January 1, 2006.

If you purchase or lease a light-duty vehicle that is plug-in or zero-emission after March 15, 2010, you will receive up to $5,000 rebates. Plug-in hybrids can qualify up to $3,000, electric motorcycles and neighborhood electric vehicles can receive up to $1,500 says hybridcars.com. If you own certain zero-emission commercial vehicles, you may be eligible for rebates up to $20,000.

Hybrid Vehicles with Single Occupant can Use Carpool Lanes

The enactment of 2005 Federal Transportation Bill allows the implementation of Assembly Bill 2628 in California to allow hybrid, AFV and full-electric vehicles with only one occupant to use high occupancy vehicle (HOV), diamond or carpool lanes, provided they have the cars bear the "clean air" stickers issued by the California Department of Motor Vehicles (CA DMV).

The clean air vehicle sticker comes in two types-white and yellow. Valid through Januray 1, 2015, White Clean Air Vehicle Stickers are issued to qualified Federal Inherently Low Emission Vehicles (ILEVs), which are certified "pure" zero-emission vehicles, which use 100 percent battery electric and hydrogen fuel cell, as well as compressed natural gas (CNG) vehicles. Yellow Clean Air vehicle Stickers, on the other hand, are stickers issued to the first 85,000 qualified hybrids. Currently, the CA DMV no longer issues new stickers; however, it extended the expiration from January 1, 2011 to July 1, 2011 to current yellow sticker holders.

Pending federal approval, new stickers will be available as of January 1, 2012, which will be valid through January 1, 2015 will be available to the first 40,000 applicants that purchase or lease cars that qualify as advanced technology partial zero emission vehicle (AT PZEV).

Sacramento CA Electric Vehicle Owners Get Free Parking

Sacramento offers free parking to people or small businesses that own or lease EVs (electric vehicles) in designated downtown parking garages and lots provided they have an EV parking pass issued by the state. Several parking garages in the city also offer free EV charging.

For more, please go to:

www.arb.ca.gov/msprog/carpool/carpool.htm

http://www.arb.ca.gov/msprog/zevprog/factsheets/clean_vehicle_incentives.pdf

http://www.hybridcars.com/local-incentives/region-by-region.html

http://www.consumerenergycenter.org/transportation/incentives/index.html