PHOENIX — Some commuters in the Phoenix metropolitan area are able to take advantage of less congested rush-hour travel in the more than 175 miles of HOV lanes within the Valley freeway system. While any vehicle with two or more occupants can be in the lanes, some vehicles are allowed to use HOV lanes with just one occupant. According to the Arizona Department of Transportation, these are qualifying alternative fuel vehicles displaying the “Clean Air – Blue Skies” Arizona license plate denoting an alternative fuel registered vehicle, including a limited number of hybrid cars. ADOT receives numerous inquiries throughout the year from motorists confused about what types of vehicles are allowed to use HOV lanes. Per state law, vehicles carrying two or more persons have the ability to use the lanes during posted restricted time periods in the morning and evening rush hour. In addition, there are other vehicles authorized to utilize HOV lanes, such as buses, motorcycles, emergency response vehicles and specific alternative fuel vehicles bearing Arizona’s special “Clean Air – Blue Skies” license plate.

The Federal Highway Administration funded construction of HOV lanes in the Phoenix metropolitan area. ADOT works in partnership with the federal agency to determine the criteria for usage. HOV lanes are in place to reduce rush-hour traffic congestion, minimize overall fuel consumption and protect air quality through lower vehicle emissions by encouraging commuters to carpool, utilize public transportation and drive fuel-efficient or alternative fuel vehicles. “The implementation of the HOV lanes located in the Phoenix area is one of many examples where ADOT’s partnership with the Federal Highway Administration and local governments strives to improve the safety, efficiency and quality of Arizona’s transportation system,” said Jennifer Toth, ADOT deputy director for transportation. “In addition to this initiative, ADOT is placing a high regard on the preservation of the state’s environment and air quality.” Violating the restrictions for HOV lane usage may result in a driver receiving a traffic citation with a fine starting at $350.

The alternative fuel vehicle license plate can be issued to a vehicle that has either been converted or manufactured to use an alternative fuel. air purifiers and copdThe allowed alternative fuel sources are liquefied petroleum gas, propane, natural gas, hydrogen, a blend of 70 percent alternative fuel and 30 percent petroleum-based fuel (certain hybrid vehicles), solar and electric power. aircon servicing singapore toa payohThe alternative fuel has to be the exclusive source of the vehicle’s power and the vehicle incapable of operating on solely on petroleum-based fuel. honeywell air purifier ukThe criteria for the alternative fuel sources are determined by the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

In 2007, Arizona implemented a pilot program for hybrid vehicles in support of the federal initiatives for low-emission, fuel-efficient vehicle standards. For this pilot program, qualifying low-emission, fuel-efficient vehicles were issued a special alternative fuel vehicle license plate with a “Hybrid” graphic that permits the operator to drive in any HOV lane, regardless of the number of occupants. The distribution of alternative fuel vehicle hybrid license plates is limited to 10,000 vehicles in Arizona to test the impact of allowing additional vehicles in HOV lanes. This limited-number provision serves the purpose of preventing saturation of the HOV lane to achieve the primary goal of reducing the number of vehicles on the road and lowering fuel consumption while supporting improved air quality with decreased emissions in the Phoenix metropolitan area. All 10,000 alternative fuel vehicle hybrid license plates have been distributed and no additional hybrid license plates are being issued at this time.

Though there are several types of hybrid vehicles on the road today, the three original vehicles approved in the 2007 program — Toyota Prius, and Honda Civic Hybrid and Honda Insight — are still the only hybrid vehicles that qualify for Arizona’s alternative fuel vehicle hybrid program per federal government guidelines. In addition to the benefits of access to HOV lanes, owners of vehicles registered as alternative fuel are charged a reduced vehicle license tax depending on the specific type of vehicle. For more information, please visit the MVD website.Air is all around us. We breathe it all day and all night. The air we breathe helps fuel our bodies so we can think, move and play. If the air is dirty or polluted, it may result in runny noses, scratchy eyes, coughing or difficulty breathing. So, help us to keep our air clean!! You will have fun playing our new Clean Air Fortune Teller Game. Fold it into its unique shape and learn fun facts related to air pollution. Download and print a copy!

Air Villain Cards teach you about air pollution. Click on the icon below to see the original "Dirty Dozen" and eight new Air Villains! To learn more about two easy ways you can help to keep the air clean, click on the icons below. To learn more about what you can do to help stop climate change, click on the icon below. Contact us for your free materials! Size of this preview: 800 × 576 pixels. Other resolutions: 320 × 230 pixels | 640 × 461 pixels | 1,024 × 737 pixels | 1,280 × 922 pixels | 1,908 × 1,374 pixels. Mariordo Derivate work created by Mario Roberto Duran Ortiz (see ref to original pics used below) Collage (derivative work) using the following images: , , and This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license. to share – to copy, distribute and transmit the work to remix – to adapt the work Under the following conditions: attribution – You must attribute the work in the manner specified by the author or licensor (but not in any way that suggests that they endorse you or your use of the work).

share alike – If you alter, transform, or build upon this work, you may distribute the resulting work only under the same or similar license to this one. Click on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time. current17:15, 5 July 20101,908 × 1,374 Mariordo {{Information |Description={{en|1=Collage of California's bumper stickers used to identify clean air vehicles to gain free access to HOV lanes: decal zoom in, front and rear bumper views. Lower left is a Prius Plug-in of RechargeIT project, and right side The following other wikis use this file: This file contains additional information, such as Exif metadata, probably added from the digital camera or scanner used to create or digitize it. If the file has been modified from its original state, some details may not fully reflect the modified file. The timestamp is only as accurate as the clock in the camera, and it may be completely wrong. Mosaic showing California decal for clean air vehicles free access to HOVs