Calls to restore Clean Pass program amid Long Island Expressway traffic complaints
Less than a month after the Long Island Expressway's Clean Pass program lapsed, some groups and lawmakers are trying to bring it back, saying commutes have gotten longer since electric vehicles got booted from the HOV lanes...
About 48,000 Clean Pass vehicles lost their ability to legally use the high-occupancy vehicle lanes on Oct. 1 because the federal government did not renew permission for New York and 14 other states to grant exemptions for zero-emission vehicles in HOV lanes on federal highways.
Currently, only carpoolers are able to use the HOV lanes.
Janis Boremski, 49, a teacher who lives in Huntington and works in Valley Stream, said she decided to pay $200 more per month to purchase a plug-in hybrid Chrysler Pacifica, rather than the gas version, in 2021 so she could spend more time with her kids rather than commuting.
WHAT NEWSDAY FOUND
- The Long Island Expressway's Clean Pass program ended Oct. 1 because the federal government didn't renew permission for New York and 14 other states to grant exemptions for zero-emission vehicles in HOV lanes on federal highways.
- Some groups and lawmakers are trying to revive the program, saying commutes have gotten longer since electric vehicles were banned from HOV lanes.
- Two bills have been introduced at the federal level to renew Clean Pass, and a state Assembly member says she plans a state bill, but all three efforts face uncertain futures.
"It was like, what’s worth more — the money or the time? Really, it's the time," she said.
Now, no longer able to use the HOV lanes, her daily commute has become at least half an hour longer, she said. She recently joined a letter-writing campaign to federal lawmakers to reinstate the program, along with fellow teacher Christina Eannuzzi, of Medford.
"Instead of ... people just to complain and sort of have these sporadic thoughts, let's try to unite people with the same mission, the same goal," Eannuzzi said of the letter-writing group, which has around 200 members.
At the federal level, two bills have been introduced with bipartisan support, including from Long Island’s delegation, to renew Clean Pass and similar programs across the country through the end of next year. However, neither bill has made it out of committee and are unlikely to do so amid the current government shutdown.
The House bill is sponsored by Rep. Nick LaLota (R-Amityville) and co-sponsored by Rep. Laura Gillen (D-Rockville Centre), among other Democrats and Republicans from New York, Arizona and California. The Senate bill is sponsored by Democrat Alex Padilla, of California, and co-sponsored by Democrat Kirsten Gillibrand, of New York, and Republican John Curtis, of Utah.
Separately, state Assemb. Rebecca Kassay (D-Port Jefferson) told Newsday she intends to introduce a bill for New York to reinstate Clean Pass without federal approval, although it is unclear if that is possible without risking federal highway funding.
Kassay spokesman Edward Gubelman said the office believes the state could adopt its own program, "provided it remains within federal regulatory parameters and does not jeopardize federal highway funding."
The state Department of Transportation did not respond to a request for comment.
Sean Butler, a spokesman for Gov. Kathy Hochul, said the governor has been "strongly supportive of Clean Pass, which reduced emissions and sped up commutes."
He blamed Republicans in Washington for failing to renew the program. A spokesman for the Federal Highway Authority previously pushed back on that argument, saying Democrats could have included an extension in 2021’s bipartisan transportation infrastructure law.
Before the Clean Pass program expired, some clean-energy advocates had said the program's days were numbered anyway, given increasing congestion in the HOV lanes as more electric vehicles used them. Under federal law, once HOV-lane traffic slows past a certain threshold — defined as a 45-mph minimum-average speed 90% of the time over 180 consecutive days during peak hours — the lanes must revert to only carpooling.
The state transportation department has said the HOV lane traffic did not reach that threshold, but it has not answered Newsday’s inquiries about how close to the threshold it was.
Some experts had predicted that displacing Clean Pass vehicles from the HOV would slow down regular lane traffic for all users — not just former Clean Pass holders.
Spokesman Stephen Canzoneri said the DOT "has observed some increases in traffic in the non-HOV lanes of the Long Island Expressway" since Clean Pass ended, but added that "the numbers are only preliminary and the sample size is too small to draw any relevant conclusions."
Bob Pishue, of the traffic analytics firm INRIX, said GPS data on drivers collected through driving apps — which does not distinguish between HOV and regular lanes — shows a small overall slowdown on the LIE eastbound in the mornings.
But because many factors, including weather and holidays, affect traffic, "it's still pretty early to tell" the overall effect on traffic congestion, he said.
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