And he will bill the expense to the metroexpress account and write it off as corporate expense.
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FasTrak toll lanes in Los Angeles to charge all EVs soon.
- Thread starter ebmcs03
- Start date
And he will bill the expense to the metroexpress account and write it off as corporate expense.
Powered By Jay
Member
I have mixed feelings about this. With the amount of clean air vehicles expected to ramp up significantly, I’m concerned that the HOV lanes will be overcrowded. They need to do something to control this. I think something much greater than a 15% discount would have been better though.
They already did something to allievate this. HOV only good for 3 years now.
And I think they should get rid of the stickers for plug in hybrids. That’s a joke! 12 mile EV range and you get a sticker??? No way! Should be a minimum of 20kw battery before you are eligabe for a sticker.
In addition to the one-time fees ($100), the state will enact annual registration fees that will range from $25 for plug-ins with market values of less than $5,000, to $175 for plug-in vehicles that are worth at least $60,000 (we'll call that the Tesla Class).
So not only is there $100. There’s another $175 annual fee!! That’s close to $300 penalty for having a EV for the first year.
California will start charging electric vehicle fees in 2020
Yes but they don't pay 13% state and local income tax and now with minimal federal deduction!!!
Idaho also isn’t as nice as CA, but there are some perks.
-not only is there no state EV rebate, EV are hit with an extra registration charge to make up for no gas tax income
-no free tolls, but then there are no toll roads (traffic isn’t bad even in Boise)
-decent public chargers in Boise, in the rest of the state you better be driving a Tesla.
-Electricity is some of the cheapest in the country and is mostly renewables thanks to lots of hydroelectric. Some utilities offer optional time of use plans.
-few restrictions on solar, net metering still there for now, but low electricity rates make payback period longer.
-no Tesla stores or service center, but I heard from owners that mobile service working well.
-not only is there no state EV rebate, EV are hit with an extra registration charge to make up for no gas tax income
-no free tolls, but then there are no toll roads (traffic isn’t bad even in Boise)
-decent public chargers in Boise, in the rest of the state you better be driving a Tesla.
-Electricity is some of the cheapest in the country and is mostly renewables thanks to lots of hydroelectric. Some utilities offer optional time of use plans.
-few restrictions on solar, net metering still there for now, but low electricity rates make payback period longer.
-no Tesla stores or service center, but I heard from owners that mobile service working well.
insaneoctane
Well-Known Member
Although the $100 CA EV registration tax is yet another California money grab, when it comes to collecting money, California doesn't miss a beat. In 2019, CA will have the second highest gasoline taxes in the nation (source) at $0.583 per gallon. They are no longer getting that revenue on EVs 
So, the $100 EV tax is roughly equivalent to a 55 MPG car driving 10K mi/year for tax revenue (my calculations show 55 MPG at 10K/yr = 182 gallons or $106 / year in "lost" taxes).
So, the $100 EV tax is roughly equivalent to a 55 MPG car driving 10K mi/year for tax revenue (my calculations show 55 MPG at 10K/yr = 182 gallons or $106 / year in "lost" taxes).Although the $100 CA EV registration tax is yet another California money grab, when it comes to collecting money, California doesn't miss a beat. In 2019, CA will have the second highest gasoline taxes in the nation (source) at $0.583 per gallon. They are no longer getting that revenue on EVs
So much for the push to EV. I understand “loss in taxes” from EVs not getting gas. But hell if you want to push for EV then don’t penalize those who do. Better manage the funds you have. Guarantee they waste the funds left and right. Way more than they collect.
insaneoctane
Well-Known Member
California definitely wants to push EVs....they are just also have a very very very strong appetite for tax revenue! "We the people" don't help much at the ballot box. California voters historically vote YES on just about any/every ballot measure regardless of what it will cost (ie Highspeed rail cost could hit $100B)!
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SomeJoe7777
Marginally-Known Member
Believe me, I go to the polls every time and try. But as a voter who typically leans to the minority party in my state, my vote usually doesn't count.
As a side note, if you really want to make a difference on that point, please support the National Popular Vote initiative. This is an initiative and method for making every person's vote count nationally, essentially making the electoral college system superfluous. And it can all be done without federal laws and without a constitutional change.
Eh, I wouldn't normally get involved into a political debate, but since the electoral college prevents dictation by the coastal states these days, I'm against it's being changed. Sorry.
Loss of HOV lane access does suck, and I'm somewhere between moderately and really unhappy about that; however, I've been driving an ICE for more than a decade in LA now, so I'm not going to really miss what I didn't have... just have to optimize one's commute differently that's all.
Or move: had one call from OKC where they were paying LA money for my skillset and damned if I didn't give them a third look... if that 30% income disparity that traditionally has held goes away, expect even more California flight to help clear up the congestion. Instead I'm going to be optimizing a 3 day a week gig up in SF, yay. Go go Model 3 camping mode!
Loss of HOV lane access does suck, and I'm somewhere between moderately and really unhappy about that; however, I've been driving an ICE for more than a decade in LA now, so I'm not going to really miss what I didn't have... just have to optimize one's commute differently that's all.
Or move: had one call from OKC where they were paying LA money for my skillset and damned if I didn't give them a third look... if that 30% income disparity that traditionally has held goes away, expect even more California flight to help clear up the congestion. Instead I'm going to be optimizing a 3 day a week gig up in SF, yay. Go go Model 3 camping mode!
ℬête Noire
Active Member
With you on the rest of your post but the above has changed. In a rare fit of sanity the TX legislature has now explicitly disallowed HOAs, once they hit a certain size, from restricting solar panels on the basis that they are solar panels.
Some more details here but if you are having a contractor install they'll be used to dealing with it and leaning on the HOA: HOA Restrictions on Solar Panels - Texas Energy Experts
SomeJoe7777
Marginally-Known Member
That's a myth. See here.
That's awesome, and it's good to know that solar installers in Texas are aware of these protections and can engage the HOA on your behalf.
Now we just need grid sale-back and economies of scale to bring the solar installations into a price range in Texas that has some decent ROI. Unfortunately, because grid power is far cheaper here than in a state like CA, the payback period for a solar installation is much longer in Texas and in many cases isn't worth it.
ℬête Noire
Active Member
True, it's not a slam-dunk like a lot of CA, and the market needs development for prices to come down. The further West from the Coast you get, the better (better sun).
There are now a few buy-back options, depending on your location. Most stink. For me Green Mountain was the only one that will buyback at par AND won't zero out a positive balance periodically (the only other at par would have zeroed out any net balance for the year I happened to have at the end of every Oct
). Green Mountain's net overage is expensive though (11.9c/kWh, their only buy-back package is also "100% wind" on the overage), so you need to size your panels close to your usage (even over a bit is OK). I'm still a little low, wasn't quite generous enough sizing to properly give myself room for vehicle usage. I'm going to try squeeze on a few more panels. Guessing at energy prices and panel degradation, and assuming 3% on the money, I'm coming in at 10-12 years to pay off capital. But factor was I needed to replace singles anyway, which save a lot. Probably wouldn't work otherwise.Griddy is something of a wildcard, still trying to see if it'll work for us. It is sort of a buy back at par but only does so within a given 15 min window. Otherwise outside of the boundaries of a given 15min slice I'm selling at grid wholesale spot price, buying at grid wholesale spot price + the approx. 3.5c/kWh to Centerpoint for delivery. On good days that can be par (or even better), because of the typical daily cycle of grid wholesale prices, but I'm going to run a simulation on my production numbers versus grid spot price for at least 6 months to see what it looks like over time before I commit to it.
I can't read the original article without a subscription. But I thought the HOV lanes main purpose was to reduce pollution, not to reduce congestion or to make money (at least initially). Getting people to carpool would reduce pollution, as would driving a car that doesn't pollute. If more people are eligible then why not consider adding more HOV or express lanes (taking away from regular lanes)? Ha! I think the state shot itself in the foot when it wanted to double-dip and make some HOV lanes express-for-a-fee.. and then have people complain that EV drivers don't pay the fee (even though carpools don't either in most of them).
Ditto on lost revenue from gasoline tax - I thought the purpose of the tax was in part to discourage people from driving so much gas guzzling.. If you achieve that goal by switching people to non-polluting means of transport (such as EVs) then why are you trying to make up for "lost revenue" ? What were you paying for with that revenue in the first place?
Ditto on lost revenue from gasoline tax - I thought the purpose of the tax was in part to discourage people from driving so much gas guzzling.. If you achieve that goal by switching people to non-polluting means of transport (such as EVs) then why are you trying to make up for "lost revenue" ? What were you paying for with that revenue in the first place?
SomeJoe7777
Marginally-Known Member
In Texas, the majority of the state gas tax revenue goes to road construction and maintenance. The argument is that EVs are driving on the roads but aren't paying for the construction and maintenance costs.
The argument has merit, but I feel it has to be levied equitably. In Texas, all cars have to pass a safety and emissions inspection annually, so what should happen is that the annual mileage for each EV should be recorded at that time and the tax levied accordingly, and it should be equal to the tax paid per mile of a very efficient gas car.
The idea that it should be some sort of flat fee rubs me the wrong way.
It is currently both:
Why build HOV lane?
According to California state law, the goals of HOV lane are to reduce congestion and improve air quality on the State Highway System. The law states that HOV lane is used "to stimulate and encourage the development of ways and means of relieving traffic congestion on California highways and, at the same time, to encourage individual citizens to pool their vehicular resources and thereby conserve fuel and lessen emission of air pollutants."
HOV
I think part of the law requires certain congestion levels in the HOV lanes, so when they get backed up by too many cars the state has to do something to fix it. http://www.dot.ca.gov/trafficops/tm/docs/2016-HOV-degradation-report.pdf
Federal law authorizes states to allow inherently low-emission vehicles (ILEVs), certain gasoline/electric plug-in hybrid vehicles, and toll-paying vehicles to access HOV lanes without meeting occupancy requirements.1 States that allow these exempted vehicles to use HOV lanes are required to monitor and report on the performance of those lanes. By federal definition, an HOV lane is considered degraded if the average traffic speed during the morning or evening weekday peak commute hour is less than 45 miles per hour (mph) for more than 10 percent of the time over a consecutive 180-day period. If the HOV lane is considered degraded, the state must limit or discontinue the use of the lane by the exempted vehicles or take other actions that will bring the operational performance up to the federal standard within 180 days after identification of the lane being degraded.
McManX
Member
Anyone else come here thinking this was about wireless battery charging
