In an effort to reduce congestion on pay lanes, Metro has revoked the free pass enjoyed by hundreds of thousands of clean air vehicle owners with the hope that fewer single-occupant green cars will opt to ride if charged the toll.

The 10-1 vote of the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority board on Thursday eliminated a key incentive for buying electric, plug-in hybrid and hydrogen-powered cars.

Known as “sticker cars,” the cars are issued decals by the DMV to travel in pay lanes called Express Lanes and carpool lanes without a passenger. State law still allows single-occupant clean air vehicles with white or green decals to ride the regular carpool lanes run by Caltrans.

Metro justified the move by saying an upsurge in clean air vehicles was clogging the pay lanes, slowing speeds to below the federally required 45 mph, and jacking up the tolls assessed paying customers that are based on congestion algorithms.

Since 2013, the year the Metro Express Lanes opened, there has been a 1,000 percent increase in decals issued by the state for clean air vehicles. From January 2016 to January of this year, the number of clean air vehicles on the northbound 110 Express Lanes during peak morning hours has doubled, Metro reported.

Even though these cars generate zero tailpipe emissions, slowing traffic in the pay lanes creates more emissions, the agency reported.

“I cannot subsidize someone who puts their tie on and drives their Tesla to work in these lanes,” said Los Angeles City Councilman and Metro board member Paul Krekorian.

When and where

The new policy will take effect in November or December, Metro reported. Owners of Teslas, as well as Nissan Leafs, Chevy Volts and Bolts, VW Golf EVs, BMW i3’s and dozens of other alternative-fueled cars certified as clean air vehicles by the state will receive a 15 percent discount from Metro to take the Express Lanes.

The change affects EV drivers using Express Lanes on two Los Angeles County freeways: the 110 Freeway from the South Bay to South Los Angeles and an 11-mile stretch of the I-10 Freeway from the San Gabriel Valley to downtown Los Angeles.

A ride the length of the I-10 lanes at peak times cost about $15. Clean air car owners who used to pay $0 will pay about $12.75 with the discount.

“If we charge electric vehicles, some will stay in these lanes, some may use regular lanes or some may use public transit,” said John Fasana, Duarte Councilman and Metro board member. “I think this is a step in right direction to being able to move more people, which will reduce emissions.”

Carpool

Metro is also studying changing the definition of a “carpool” on the I-10 Freeway Express Lanes to only registered buses and vanpools. All others riding with two or three passengers will be charged a toll instead of riding free, according to a proposal by Fasana adopted by the board.

Fasana wants to free up space on what was once called the I-10 busway for Metro and Foothill Transit express buses that take passengers from the Inland Empire and the San Gabriel Valley to downtown L.A.

But the lanes have become overused by paying single-occupancy customers, who represent 49 percent of the Metro Express Lanes customers, and free-riding EV drivers, which account for about 6 percent.

Foothill Transit board member and West Covina Mayor Corey Warshaw testified that express buses are often stuck in severe congestion. “Our buses are often seen sitting in traffic in what is supposed to be an express lane. Ridership has decreased because the public does not see it as a faster way to travel.”

Other options?

Los Angeles County Supervisor and board member Sheila Kuehl, who voted “no,” argued that the best way to reduce congestion on Express Lanes was to discontinue the program allowing single-occupant users to pay for quicker rides, thereby eliminating 49 percent of the cars.

But she suggested that is an option Metro has refused to consider because Express Lanes have become a revenue source. Between 2014-2016, total revenues reached $130.9 million.

“If this is about decreasing congestion, it doesn’t,” Kuehl said. “We should simply admit we want to convert this to a toll lane and we don’t really care about clean air. It’s because we need the money.”

The changes to the toll lanes may loom larger as Metro considers adding them to the 405 and 105 freeways. Also, changes to the I-10 pay lanes could have ripple effects toward the east as San Bernardino County moves toward building toll lanes on the 10 Freeway.

“As we look at the imminent expansion of Express Lanes (on the I-10) all the way to Redlands, we are going to need to preserve service on the busway,” Fasana said.

The board also agreed to study a “pay-as-you-use” approach that allows occasional users without first purchasing a transponder to use the lanes.