RUSH ON HOV-LANE PERMITS FOR HYBRIDS CAR-POOL ALLOCATIONS NEARLY ALL SNAPPED UP.

Byline: RACHEL URANGA Staff Writer

The explosive interest in hybrid vehicles -- brought on by higher gas prices resulting from seasonal refinery changes and the escalating turmoil in the Middle East -- has nearly exhausted a year-old program permitting solo hybrid drivers in car-pool lanes.

Under a pilot program launched in August, the state Department of Motor Vehicles has been selling special permits to hybrid owners, allowing them in car-pool lanes even if driving by themselves. The lanes were designed to carry cars with at least two passengers and hefty fines are levied on violators.

``We are very surprised. We knew it would promote people to buy hybrids but we didn't expect them to go through these 75,000 decals this fast,'' said Josh Townsend, spokesman for Assemblywoman Fran Pavley, D-Woodland Hills, who authored the legislation in 2004 that created bumper sticker permits.

Angelenos -- with their long commutes and autocentric lifestyles -- have made the region a capital of hybrid cars, with more being sold in the region than anywhere else in the nation, according to the National Automobile Dealers Association.

``We can't keep them in stock,'' said Albert Farshi, a manager at Colonial Honda in Glendale. ``People are trading in their gas guzzlers left and right. They want to get into economy cars where they can get more bang for the buck.''

With gas prices at or near record levels -- Los Angeles-area drivers paid an average of $3.29 a gallon this week, according to the Auto Club of Southern California -- waiting lists for the cars stretch into the months, and in less than one year, nearly all the available decals permitting hybrid drivers to use the car-pool lane were snapped up. About a third of the permits were issued to Angelenos.

Fewer than 5,000 slots for the yellow decals, which allow solo drivers in hybrids to zoom through car-pool lanes, are left, and they are likely to be gone before summer's end, DMV officials said.

The department made 75,000 of the $8 yellow stickers available in August 2005 to owners of hybrid Toyota Prius, Honda Civics and Honda Insights.

And they have been picked up at a rate of 220 a day. But the program is set to expire in 2008, not too soon for some critics.

Sharon Wrathall, an environmental consultant who drives her three-year-old Prius from her home in Ontario to Burbank five days a week, says she's not sure the sticker has eased her commute but she has cut her gasoline bill in half.

``The car-pool lane can be just as slow as the other lanes,'' Wrathall said. ``I imagine it helps some, but when you are in rush-hour traffic, I don't know that it makes a huge amount of difference.''

In March, Caltrans began studying the impact of hybrids on the already congested carpool lanes. If the soon-to-be-released study determines the car-pool lanes have become too crowded, it could shut down the program to new users.

Though the draft is not yet available, critics say any move to extend the rule would only further congest freeways.

``When you insert extra cars into that lane with one person, it jams up the car-pool lane making it no better than the rest of lanes,'' said Bart Reed, executive director of the Transit Coalition and lead author of the Angeles chapter of the Sierra Club's opinion against the hybrid exception.

``We don't think it's right that people who have hybrids should be able to gain special preference. The (car-pool) lanes are almost all at capacity.''

With Pavley termed out this year, it's unclear whether any legislators will seek to extend the rules. But whatever happens, the favorable rules coupled with soaring gas prices have already helped fuel hybrid sales.

Sales shot up 2.1 percent nationally during the first six months of this year, while SUV sales nationally have dropped 13.9 percent.

In other regions like Maryland -- which opened up high-occupancy-vehicle lanes to hybrids this year -- similar rules appear to be driving hybrid sellers, said Paul Taylor, chief economist for the National Automobile Dealers Association.

In California, the 2004 legislation easily won bipartisan support and was signed into law by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, but needed federal approval before it took effect.

The law gives perks to only the cleanest cars -- those getting 45 miles per gallon or better and emitting the fewest polluting emissions.

But with freeway congestion getting worse, some say the future discussion may turn toward the fate of car-pool lanes altogether.

``The potential exists at some point in the future, that the number of occupants for the HOV lanes may have to increase,'' said Dave White, a Caltrans spokesman. ``Its about moving people, not more cars.''

rachel.uranga(at)dailynews.com

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Car-pool lanes on the 118 Freeway at Balboa Boulevard allow rapid movement Friday, and a growing number of those cars are hybrid vehicles, officials say.

John McCoy/Staff Photographer