Florida Department Of Transportation Clarifies Gov. DeSantis’ Repeal Of HOV Lanes.
BOCA RATON, FL (BocaNewsNow.com) (Copyright © 2025 MetroDesk Media, LLC) — If you have a High Occupancy Vehicle decal on your vehicle, you can still drive — for free — in HOV lanes in Florida for up to the next year. The clarification comes after an announcement Monday that seemed to catch even the Florida Department of Transportation off guard. The office of Governor Ron DeSantis announced Monday afternoon that HOV lanes are being repealed in Florida — effective today (July 1st).
HOV lanes and “Express Lanes” are largely synonymous in Palm Beach, Broward, and Miami-Dade Counties — but they are not the same. Non-tolled HOV lanes on I-95 were only supposed to be used by drivers with multiple people in their vehicle, or drivers in electric or hybrid vehicles that registered with the State of Florida and received a decal (like the red decal, above). For tolled express lanes: carpool drivers and HOV/EV owners could separately register with “95Express” to receive a second decal (the white decal, above) that permits free express lane use. That free use is what is apparently going away.
“With recent changes this legislative session, there are updates to the toll exemptions for electric vehicles, Inherently Low Emission Vehicles (ILEV), and hybrid vehicles,” said FDOT spokesperson Guillermo Alberto Canedo in a statement to BocaNewsNow.com. “As a result, no new exemptions or renewals for these vehicles will be issued after June 30, 2025. All exemption decals issued prior to this date will remain active for one year from issuance of the decal.”
The repeal of the HOV lanes appears to be part of the continued Republican attack on electric vehicles and the environment. There has been no explanation from the Governor’s office as to why HOV lanes — constructed over years at the expense of millions of dollars — are now considered bad. It’s also unclear why certain Florida lawmakers oppose environmentally-friendly EV’s, or what ramifications they will face in future elections from South Florida where electric vehicles are as ubiquitous as Medicare recipients.
Good let it go away. The carpool program did not help families with young children as they required people to be 16+. No reason electric cars or hybirds should get free access to the express lanes with just a single person, but a mother driving her 3 children to school or someplace shouldn’t get free access unless they drove an electric car. This hurts Elon Musk too and makes Tesla’s less desirable which is a pro.
Your left wing bias is effing annoying. The Republicans are not attacking electric vehicles and the environment. The production of electric vehicle batteries is extremely destructive to the environment and the mining of the minerals in them is using child labor. It is also a fallacy that co2 is responsible for climate change. There is zero science to show that it is.
Are you responding to me? It looks like you are because your response is to the bottom right of mine, but the content of your response makes no sense compared to what I wrote.
Highway robbery. The next step is to put up those plastic poles from N.Boca to the Martin Co line. Basically creating more traffic for everyone on 95 during non rush hour due to one less lane. The revenue will be taken from so fla and spent in other parts of the state that can’t support themselves. Local municipality sidestreets from Boca to Martin will have more traffic and repairs needed as a result of 95 congestion.
I never thought EVs should get free express lane as they don’t pay gas taxes that are used to maintain roads.
https://news.climate.columbia.edu/2021/02/25/carbon-dioxide-cause-global-warming/
I can’t understand why people can still deny the effects of CO2 on climate change and global warming unless you never read any scholarly information. Just to say there is zero science to prove this shows that you don’t read any science. Stay ignorant while our glaciers melt away and cities are frying under extreme heat as they are doing around the world this week.
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