The free ride is over.
A state program that allowed drivers of electric vehicles and hybrid cars to ride solo on the HOV lanes of the Long Island Expressway has come to a screeching halt — leaving EV drivers to fend for themselves.
The federally mandated Clean Pass program expired on Wednesday, which means the more than 55,000 metro area motorists will no longer be allowed into the high-occupancy lanes during rush hour.
“This sucks,” Central Islip commuter and healthcare worker Beverly Gandarillas told The Post. “It’s going to have a domino effect. I’m going to have to wake up earlier to leave earlier just to get to work on time, and forget it if there’s an accident.”
Launched in 2006, Clean Pass sought to encourage the use of fuel efficient and electric cars by allowing them to bypass HOV requirements that only allow vehicles with multiple passengers — giving EV drivers a break from the infamous LIE rush hour gridlock.
But President Trump pulled federal approval from the program, just one of a slew of clean energy initiatives yanked in 15 states by the White House.
The change has commuters from Queens and Brooklyn to the Hamptons fuming — and transportation experts warning about the gridlock fallout.
“Traffic is going to be worse,” said AAA spokesman Robert Sinclair Jr. “We’ve crunched the numbers — there’s about 55,000 eligible vehicles on Long Island — so imagine that number of vehicles not being able to use land anymore and coming out into the normal flow of traffic.”
US Census data shows that carpooling on Long Island was already slipping since the HOV lanes opened in the 1990s, dropping from about 12% of commuters then to 11% today.
Gov. Kathy Hochul was less than pleased with the decision to pull the plug on the program.
“Unfortunately, the Trump Administration and Republicans in Congress have made Long Island drivers the latest victims in their never-ending campaign to make our air dirtier, and our traffic worse,” a rep for the governor’s office said in a statement.
Solo drivers now caught in the HOV lane — even with energy efficient wheels — will now face fines of at least $150 and two points on their driver’s licenses, just like other motorists.
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