Ontario green plates

[Double_J]

My pickup date is scheduled for nov 4th in Oakville. My question is regarding my personalized license plates. Will I automatically get green plates, or would I need to order them?

If I have an electric vehicle can I use the high occupancy lane with blue plates?

 

[pcons]

My pickup date is scheduled for nov 4th in Oakville. My question is regarding my personalized license plates. Will I automatically get green plates, or would I need to order them?

If I have an electric vehicle can I use the high occupancy lane with blue plates?

Tesla will get green plates for you. You cant use blue plates in HOV, has to be green.

 

[CaptainKirk]

Tesla will try to get green plates for you. When I picked up in March 2020 they were delivering so many cars they ran out at the local service Ontarios around Oakville. I was promised that if I was able to find a green plate, Tesla would reimburse me. I picked one up closer to home, sent in the receipt via email and got reimbursed within about a week.

I have a vanity plate but went with the green one. I’m saving the vanity plate for when the government in Ontario removes it as a perk for HOV use. There will be a day in the future that so many EVs exist that the Ontario Government will have to limit HOV usage to those cars transporting 2 or more people, EV or not.

 

[CadillacJack]

FYI - Tesla won’t do plate swaps currently. You will get a new plate. At least they was the case in August.

 

[oakvillemike]

FYI - Tesla won’t do plate swaps currently. You will get a new plate. At least they was the case in August.

That's too bad - I got my plates swapped for Oakville delivery on August 1, just had to drop off the plates a day or two beforehand. Must've just squeezed in before they shut it down.

 

[wayner]

IMO we will not see ever vanity EV plates until there is no real benefit in having EV plates. As CaptainKrik mentions, there will be a time in the future when there are so many EVs that we will no longer get to use HOV lanes.

And the reason that they don't allows vanity EV plates is that EV plates have to start the GV or VE. That gives a redundancy for green plates, over and above the colour which isn't always very noticeable in certain weather conditions or snow coverage. Just like how many jurisdictions (like Quebec) have different shape traffic lights for each colour.

 

[dwharrison]

I'm just happy that EV plates still exist and that the HOV lane benefit still does (though living where I do in Durham Region, I rarely have an opportunity to drive where there is an HOV lane). I'm really surprised the PCs didn't kill those at the same time they killed the EV rebate.

But agreed, their time is limited.

 

[wayner]

The best was when the PanAm games were on in 2015 and they created temporary special lanes on the 401. EVs were allowed to use those

 

[Davemo]

Just ordered M3LR, delivery by End of December.
Concerned to see Tesla M3 2021 not listed on eligible vehicle list: Green Plates Eligible Vehicle List (gov.on.ca)
website does say last update was Sept 2020, so maybe MTO hasn't got around to it yet? There are 2021 models from other manufacturers listed however. Anyone been able to get green plates on a 2021 Tesla so far?

 

[michaelnorbert]

Just ordered M3LR, delivery by End of December.
Concerned to see Tesla M3 2021 not listed on eligible vehicle list: Green Plates Eligible Vehicle List (gov.on.ca)
website does say last update was Sept 2020, so maybe MTO hasn't got around to it yet? There are 2021 models from other manufacturers listed however. Anyone been able to get green plates on a 2021 Tesla so far?

I have a 2021 MY and received green plates when I picked up the vehicle at SC

 

[Double_J]

Same here. 2021 MY got the green plates. I really wanted to use my personalized plates but I've discovered a section of my daily commute now has the HOV lane. It likely saves me a couple of minutes max but it feels awesome to drive by people while they are in traffic.

I know it's peddy but I can't help it!

 

[mrElbe]

It doesn't feel awesome if some slowpoke is holding up traffic in the HOV lane in front of you and traffic beside you is whizzing by.. That's why I don't miss the green plate privilege. Many times all the other lanes give me escape options.

 

[TheRFMan]

I've had vanity plates (PLUGS IN) on my green-plate eligible Chevy Volt since I bought in in 2011. There is virtually zero benefit to having green plates in Ottawa. The only HOV lane on a provincial jurisdiction road is a short (5km perhaps) stretch of the 417 in the west end. All HOV land in Ottawa are on City or NCC roads, where green plates aren't recognized.

I already have the plates that I'll put on the Model 3 I'm preparing to buy in spring (see avatar). If Tesla puts green plates on it, I'll swap them out same day at ServiceOntario.

 

[Davemo]

I have a 2021 MY and received green plates when I picked up the vehicle at SC

Tesla advisors just confirmed they will take care of green plates, i feel much better. Probably just MTO out of date

 

[Biscuitman]

I've had vanity plates (PLUGS IN) on my green-plate eligible Chevy Volt since I bought in in 2011. There is virtually zero benefit to having green plates in Ottawa. The only HOV lane on a provincial jurisdiction road is a short (5km perhaps) stretch of the 417 in the west end. All HOV land in Ottawa are on City or NCC roads, where green plates aren't recognized.

I already have the plates that I'll put on the Model 3 I'm preparing to buy in spring (see avatar). If Tesla puts green plates on it, I'll swap them out same day at ServiceOntario.

The benefit of having green plates in Ottawa or anywhere is that you are publicly letting people know that you care about the environment and there is an alternative to carbon spewing ICE vehicles . Also presumably you leave the Nations Capital occasionally and will benefit from other jurisdictions HOV lanes.

 

[HarleyW]

The benefit of having green plates in Ottawa or anywhere is that you are publicly letting people know that you care about the environment and there is an alternative to carbon spewing ICE vehicles . Also presumably you leave the Nations Capital occasionally and will benefit from other jurisdictions HOV lanes.

Yeah, as people walking by actually look at your plate.

 

[mrElbe]

The benefit of having green plates in Ottawa or anywhere is that you are publicly letting people know that you care about the environment and there is an alternative to carbon spewing ICE vehicles . Also presumably you leave the Nations Capital occasionally and will benefit from other jurisdictions HOV lanes.

In my opinion green plates should only be issued to pure BEVs.

 

[TheRFMan]

The benefit of having green plates in Ottawa or anywhere is that you are publicly letting people know that you care about the environment and there is an alternative to carbon spewing ICE vehicles . Also presumably you leave the Nations Capital occasionally and will benefit from other jurisdictions HOV lanes.

For what it's worth, I'm not much into virtue signalling. Sure, I feel good about reducing pollution, but I prefer electric to ICE for the tech, performance, efficiency and minimal required maintenance more than environmental reasons. It appeals to me as an electrical engineer

As for travelling outside the Nation's Capital, I find that the HOV lanes are pretty much all in the GTA, which is not very useful to me. I think I've driven west of Belleville only four times in the last 10 years, and I've always had a passenger with me, which allowed me to use the HOV lanes anyways. If there were similar HOV lanes I could use on highways 20, 40 and 15 in Montreal, that would be more useful to me, but then again, I rarely travel there without a passenger.

 

[cdswm3]

In my opinion green plates should only be issued to pure BEVs.

We have both a Tesla and Ford Fusion PHEV. The Ford operates about 90% of the time in EV mode, even in gas mode the thing gets great gas mileage. We fill the tank about every 4 months. I think in is well deserving of a green plate.

 

[DMC-Orangeville]

For what it's worth, I'm not much into virtue signalling. Sure, I feel good about reducing pollution, but I prefer electric to ICE for the tech, performance, efficiency and minimal required maintenance more than environmental reasons. It appeals to me as an electrical engineer

As for travelling outside the Nation's Capital, I find that the HOV lanes are pretty much all in the GTA, which is not very useful to me. I think I've driven west of Belleville only four times in the last 10 years, and I've always had a passenger with me, which allowed me to use the HOV lanes anyways. If there were similar HOV lanes I could use on highways 20, 40 and 15 in Montreal, that would be more useful to me, but then again, I rarely travel there without a passenger.

I have green plates, and frequently travel in the west end of the GTA, but have used the HOV lanes (highway 410) 2 or 3 times in almost 6 years. I still like the plates, though.

Like you @TheRFMan, I bought the car for the tech, and the fact that it was just a beautiful car. Plus, I was in the electrical supply business - We sell all of the stuff needed to supply the "fuel" for our cars.

A funny (shortened) story. I was on the Board of Directors of the Electrofederation Canada, and the incoming chair of the National Advisory Council, when I bought my Tesla. The other directors were from the giants of the electrical industry, Siemens, Schneider, Rockwell, ABB, Rexel, Hubbell, Graybar etc. Most of them thought I was a bit *goofy* to buy a full electric automobile. When I tried to get them onside of a full support of electrification of the automobile, they shrugged. They could not see that our industry would be greatly influenced by the adoption of electric transportation. Only one other Director (The President of ABB) bought into this, and she bought a Tesla, too. It just so happens that she also was pushing her company to continue expanding in this market (and they are).

About 3 years later, they started to change their tune, as the tipping point for electric cars was beginning, and they didn't want an alternative channel of supply to circumvent them.....Now they are fully supportive