Just Out: beginning this spring, a limited number of hybrid vehicles in Colorado will receive the same privileges in HOV lanes as carpoolers. Hybrid drivers must apply to CDOT for special decals that will give them access to HOV lanes on I-25, Highway 36 and Santa Fe drive in Denver. The goal is ostensibly multifold:

• Incentivize the use of highly efficient vehicles by making it easier for them to bypass traffic jams.
• Reward purchase of hybrid vehicles, which still cost a premium up front, by providing preferential road conditions for them.
• Limit the number of eligible vehicles to avoid the congestion that has resulted in such programs in Washington DC, California and elsewhere.  Read more »