Official

California is about to run out of green PHEV HOV lane stickers

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The Golden State is very close to running out of stickers that allow plug-in hybrid vehicle drivers to take up precious HOV lane space all on their own, according to Green Car Reports. To add insult to injury, the funds for California's rebates for plug-in vehicle purchases ($2,500 for battery-electric vehicles, $1,500 for plug-in hybrids) may have also dried up.

We last looked at the the sticker status in mid-March, when about 36,200 green stickers were spoken for. There is a limit of 40,000 of these that will be handed out, but the state has put no limit on the white stickers doled out to battery-electric vehicles. The California Air Resources Board said on March 28 that 38,179 of the green stickers have been issued. That means that roughly 125 green stickers are being given out each day. Counting forward, it means that the 40,000 limit will be hit on or about April 11. The green stickers are valid through January 1, 2019.

As of now, California Center for Sustainable Energy, which operates the Clean Vehicle Rebate Project, is putting folks on a waiting list for the purchase rebates, with funds not expected to be paid until at least late summer. Either way, the state will need about $30 million for rebate applications through June 30, the end of the state's fiscal year. The California Center for Sustainable Energy didn't respond to a request for comment from AutoblogGreen.

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