States Engaging Citizens to Consider Green Cars

Washington DC May 25, 2005; AIADA.org reported that at least 28 states and cities across the country are petitioning drivers in their territories to buy fuel-efficient, clean-burning hybrid automobiles, offering- or weighing the prospects for consumer incentives which include, tax breaks, free parking and use of High-Occupancy-Vehicle lanes, or HOV lanes traditionally reserved for cars carrying more than one passenger.

“At least 15 states and three cities have incentives in place. Thirteen states are considering such measures,” reports USA Today. At the present moment, the federal government provides consumers a one-time tax deduction if purchasing a new hybrid; the break is $2,000 in 2005, and $500 next year. States and larger metropolitan areas want to add to this benefit. “

We want people to buy hybrids,“ says Diana Enright, spokeswoman for the Oregon Department of Energy. Oregon, for example, provides hybrid buyers an additional state tax credit of up to $1,500. In Colorado, consumers stand to earn a credit of up to $4,713. Connecticut hybrid owners, whose fuel economy is at least 40 mpg, get an exemption from the state’s 6 percent sales tax. Virginia and Utah hybrid drivers are allowed in HOV lanes even if they are the sole person in the vehicle. And so far, California, Colorado, Georgia and Florida have passed similar laws allowing hybrids access to HOV lanes, but must now wait for a waiver from the federal government.

Western metropolitan areas like Los Angeles, Albuquerque and San Jose, provide hybrid drivers the privilege of parking free at city meters as long as they abide by the time limits. “We think it’s working,” says Sahar Moridani, spokeswoman for Los Angeles Mayor Jim Hahn. About 1,500 hybrids a week use the city’s metered spaces for free, she says. “We think as more and more people learn about this, more people will buy hybrids -- cars that use less gas and cause less pollution. And that’s what we want.” Although hybrid registrations rose in 2004 by 81 percent to 83,153, the fuel-efficient “green cars” still only account for less than 1 percent of the U.S. market for new cars, according to research firm R.L. Polk & Co.