‘Trump traffic jam’: Republicans slash popular clean air carpool lane program

What you need to know: The Trump administration and Republican Congress’s failure to extend the federal Clean Air Vehicle (CAV) decal program means California drivers with these decals will lose carpool lane access starting September 30, along with drivers in 13 other red and blue states with similar programs across the country. This decision eliminates a highly successful program that incentivized cleaner cars and reduced air pollution.

SACRAMENTO — More traffic and more smog is on its way to California, thanks to Trump and the Republican-led Congress.

Starting September 30, California drivers with the Clean Air Vehicle (CAV) decal will no longer be able to use carpool lanes without meeting vehicle occupancy requirements because the Trump administration and Congress decided to let the program sunset. California and other states’ ability to continue their decal programs relies on the federal government to extend the program, which has enjoyed broad bipartisan support in the past.

The decals represented an additional incentive for drivers to make the switch to cleaner cars because they offered access to carpool lanes. The misguided decision to let this program lapse eliminates the wildly successful program that has driven innovation in California and reduced air pollution at virtually no cost to taxpayers.