Because of recent changes made at the federal level, commuters traveling in electric vehicles in the New York City metro area will no longer be able to legally use lanes for high-occupancy vehicles on certain roadways, according to the New York Post. The move is expected to make traffic worse for all car-based commuters.  

What's happening?

Since 2006, drivers of electric and hybrid vehicles have been allowed to access the Long Island Expressway's HOV lanes during rush hour. While the program was intended to encourage drivers to adopt cleaner EVs and hybrids, it had the added benefit of reducing traffic for all drivers by allowing additional vehicles to use the HOV lanes. 

However, as part of a vast overhaul of federal policy relating to cleaner, renewable energy and EVs, the current administration has canceled the program, according to the New York Post. 

"Traffic is going to be worse," said Robert Sinclair Jr., a spokesperson for AAA, according to the Post. "We've crunched the numbers — there's about 55,000 eligible vehicles on Long Island — so imagine that number of vehicles not  being able to use land anymore and coming out into the normal flow of traffic." 

According to a 2023 report from CBS News, roughly 700,000 vehicles travel on the Long Island Expressway every day. Serving as a vital corridor by which commuters travel from homes on Long Island to jobs in New York City, the roadway has long been notorious for its heavy traffic. 

"Traffic congestion on Long Island long ago reached epic proportions," said a 2002 study by the Regional Plan Association. "As early as the 1960s the Long Island Expressway was dubbed the world's longest parking lot."   

Long Island is home to over 8 million people, according to World Population Review, roughly 40% of the state's population. As the number of people living in the area has swelled in recent decades, the traffic has only gotten worse.

Why is it important?

For nearly two decades, the Clean Pass program helped to decrease congestion on the Long Island Expressway while also giving drivers an incentive to purchase or lease cleaner EVs and hybrids. 

The program's cancellation will have wide-ranging impacts, from increasing individual travel times to worsening local air pollution. 

"It's going to have a domino effect," Beverly Gandarillas, a healthcare worker who commutes on the expressway, told the New York Post. "I'm going to have to wake up earlier and leave earlier just to get to work on time, and forget if there's an accident." 

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Kathy Hochul, the New York governor, critiqued the move, saying in a statement that the current administration and its supporters in Congress "have made Long Island drivers the latest victims in their never-ending campaign to make our air dirtier and our traffic worse," according to the Post. 

Not only are EVs responsible for significantly less planet-heating pollution per mile than vehicles powered by internal-combustion engines, they also do not release health-harming fumes during operation. 

Vehicle exhaust contains hazardous substances such as carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, particulate matter, and volatile organic compounds, according to the California Air Resources Board. 

"Health effects from vehicle pollution can include respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, as well as increased risk of cancer," the board's website warned.

What's being done about it?

While individual commuters can attempt to bypass the roadways by using public transit such as trains, public transit is not a feasible option for all workers. 

To help push to bring back programs like Clean Pass, individuals can use their voice, contact their elected representatives in Congress, and vote for candidates who support renewable energy and EVs. 

Meanwhile, the cancellation of government programs does not impact many of the other benefits of driving an EV. In addition to helping the environment and public health, driving an EV can save thousands of dollars per year in fuel costs. To take those benefits even further, you can charge your EV from a home solar system.   

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