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April 2, 2008
Wait, Hold On. Free Parking for Hybrids May Now Be Cut
Announced and passed last Friday in a Los Angeles City Council session, a hybrid owners perk of parking free was extended to 2011. Then yesterday, they reversed the decision.
If it makes you angry, blame Bill Rosendahl who brought it up. "This was a great incentive when we first did it," Councilman Bill Rosendahl as quoted in Daily News. "But hybrids don't need assistance from us. They already are getting a benefit from the savings they get by not having to buy $4-a-gallon gas." Apparently he thinks hybrids never go to the gas station.
And as the theme goes these days with the city of Los Angeles, it's because of the budget being in the red $500 million. "I realize this is not all the money in the world, but at this time, every penny counts," Rosendahl continued. The program is estimated to cost the city $116,560 in lost revenue, which is 0,5% of the total meter income.
In fact, Rosendahl, wants to raise parking meter rates across the board to generate more revenue. But more importantly, some believe raising parking meter rates will help solve the traffic issue.
Photo by pink_fish13 via LAist Featured Photos on Flickr
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Hybrids already get to drive in the carpool and get excellent gas mileage. I believe there was also a tax break a few years ago as well...... how much can we incentivize the issue?
I'm all for getting rid of ALL perks for Hybrid Drivers, especially the carpool lane one.
I don't care if you drive a Hybrid, if you really cared about the environment, you'd carpool.
Hybrids are a scam.
not to mention that hybrids cost far more money than I can afford to pay for a car. Do we really want to give tax breaks and incentives to the wealthy for being able to afford a hybrid?
How about free parking for a total carbon footprint tax credit? I drive an SUV, but also don't have air conditioning and live in a 500 square foot apartment with my wife, not a 2,500 square foot McMansion in Santa Monica that is always a comfortable 72 degrees in the summer.
I'm with Donald Shoup on this one, raise fees on all the parking meters, get people to stop driving around the block over and over again, adding to traffic.
Let's pilot that idea.
Exactly.
The key is not driving a Hybrid, it's driving LESS.
Not all people who drive hybrids are wealthy. That's a logical fallacy. If you can make a car payment, you can drive a hybrid. I wish they were more affordable so that more people could have the option, and I suspect some day they will be. Yes, there is a one-time tax break for purchasing the car--it's not a massive one, though.
Not all hybrids automatically get to drive in the carpool lane, either. It was a limited program that required owners to pay a small fee to get stickers for their qualifying car; not all hybrids qualify. Carpooling is a wonderful option, and should be done more frequently by more people, and businesses and institutions should provide incentives for doing so, but all that doesn't eliminate our massive traffic problems or overburdened infrastructures pertaining to transit, both public and automotive.
I agree that there's more to be done on all levels by people to make the world less congested and to cause less damage to the earth.
I'm not as upset about this decision being overturned even though it affects me because I didn't actually know about it until last week and have been dutifully feeding the meter for the past two years apparently unecessarily. Meh, whatever. It was a nice idea. I am pretty happy when I fill up my ten gallon tank every couple of weeks and get an average of 45 mpg, and when I can leave the car at home and walk or take transit or share a ride. We do what we can.
Word, Lindsay. By most standards of the definition, I do not consider myself wealthy at all, but budgeted enough to make payments every month for a car that carries with it certain benefits.
Yes to more carpooling, yes to more parking structures and yes to less driving. But wiping away incentives, even small ones like this, send a message that City Hall isn't as eco-friendly as they could be.
It's not just about the money they might save from more meter coins, but the message that the city encourages hybrid driving. Hybrids are not the answer, but are one piece of the puzzle.
NO, wiping away incentives means that Hybrid Drivers can get off their high horse and realize they still drive a Fossil Fuel vehicle that pollutes, just like all cars.
My car gets, probably 25mpg, but, I drive about 8k miles a year, while many Hybrid drivers drive over 20K a year, but think they're being "green" when, in reality, I actually burn less fuel than they do.