When I bought my Toyota Prius, I found out that I could sign up for this new program where each year, California would allow a certain number of hybrid vehicles to occupy the carpool lane without having the minimum number of passengers in the car. It took me a while to get the stickers, and then a longer while to even put them on my car. But I finally did and this week….I rode the carpool lane.
WOW.
I pull with some trepidation into the carpool lane, as we’re all conditioned to not to do so or else we’re going to get a big ass ticket.
And now I fly down the highway, to the envy of those stuck in the regular lanes where the traffic is stop and go. I make it up to SF in record time during the day, which is about 45 minutes. Likewise on the way back, I zip onto 101 and dash into the carpool lane, and accelerate back home, again in record time.
What a rush (and how silly to feel this way)!
When I first signed up, I thought it was a silly motivation to buy a Prius. After all, being green and saving gas cash were the bigger reasons, not the ability to zoom down a near empty carpool lane (simply because Californians refuse to drive with someone). But definitely my feelings have changed.
As my new occupation forces me to visit SF often, I find that minimizing the time I waste being in the car (where I can’t do anything but drive) is incredibly important. Now I have another reason to love my Prius!