Free parking for hybrids proposed

[question everything]

LOS ANGELES – Hybrid cars could park for free on city streets under a proposal by Mayor James Hahn aimed at promoting the low-polluting vehicles. The gas-electric cars would be allowed to use parking meters for free.

"I think we want to do whatever we can to improve air quality in Los Angeles," Hahn said. "I think it will be fun. People will realize they won't have to fish around for those quarters."

San Jose has had a similar program for three years. Los Angeles already offers free parking for all-electric and natural gas vehicles.

There are an estimated 4,700 registered hybrids in Los Angeles.

Associated Press

http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20040711/news_1n11region.html

[Sporadicus]

1. Great Idea!

I applaud any incentive to build and purchase more hybrid vehicles. The link doesn't work, however, thanks to the San Diego Union-Tribune's practice of shuffling links to their articles. This is becoming more commonplace, and it really upsets me. I even tried searching for the article, and it doesn't appear.:mad:

[question everything]

17. Oops. The link does work but you have to scroll down

as it is the second story for the "Region Update."

[Sporadicus]

18. Jumped the Gun Again!

I've just gotten so accustomed to papers moving around weblinks. Thanks!

[lucky777]

2. Good idea, we need to incentivize environmentally friendly stuff

I think we should also punish sprawl by raising prices on housing far out of the city, and we should tax the fuck out of SUVs. This is how you change things; offer free bus and subway service in the inner city, plus huge tax breaks for living downtown, that will stop the sprawl and the cars and the pollution.

[7th_Sephiroth]

3. hybrids arent enviromentally friendly

my neighbor owns one and is cursing it, after about 5,000 miles his gas mileage is cut in half,and less mileage than other cars the manufacturer makes, and, is coming up on his 100,000 mile $6,500 battery replacement

[benburch]

4. My experience isn't like that at all!

I have 30,000 miles on my '02 Prius. Zero problems. I get 44-48 mpg depending on whether I am running the AC or not.

[7th_Sephiroth]

5. just counting my neighbors experience

i dont know exatly what he drives, i'll ask him

[benburch]

6. Sounds like he got a lemon...

I've heard of one or two bad experiences like this with Hybrids. When this sort of thing happens with any car you need to escalate the problem to the corporate level.

[7th_Sephiroth]

13. i told him to cause a stink

i have heard this from other people, too, hybrid cars sound either hit or miss

[Freddie Stubbs]

20. Your neighbor isn't the only one who has had problems

Hybrid Mileage Comes Up Short

Hybrid cars are hot, but not as hot as their owners, who complain that their gas mileage hasn't come close to well-advertised estimates.

Don't knock the car companies for inflated claims: Experts say the blame lies with the 19-year-old EPA fuel-efficiency test that overstates hybrid performance.

Pete Blackshaw was so excited about getting a hybrid gasoline-electric car that he had his wife videotape the trip to the Honda dealership to pick up his Civic Hybrid. The enthusiastic owner ordered a customized license plate with "MO MILES" on it, and started a blog about his new hybrid lifestyle.

But after a few months of commuting to his job in Cincinnati, Blackshaw's hybrid euphoria vanished as his car's odometer revealed that the gas mileage he was hoping for was only a pipe dream. Honda's Civic Hybrid is rated by the EPA to get 47 miles per gallon in the city, and 48 mpg on the highway. After nearly 1,000 miles of mostly city driving, Blackshaw was getting 31.4 mpg.

"I feel like a complete fraud driving around Cincinnati with a license plate that says MO MILES," says Blackshaw,

more: http://www.wired.com/news/autotech/0,2554,63413,00.html?tw=wn_tophead_1

[7th_Sephiroth]

21. yes

thats what my neighbor has

[benburch]

24. I've heard little good about the Hondas, sadly.

Toyota, on the other hand, seems to have gotten it right.

[7th_Sephiroth]

26. toyota makes great vehicles

i have a toyota pickup that went 200,000 miles on one timing chain

[PurityOfEssence]

23. The Insight is a series hybrid, which is less efficient in the city

The Prius is a parallel hybrid, which is much better in the city.

I love my '03 Prius, and have put 22K on it since September of '02. My average mileage is around 42 with a lot of city driving and AC usage. It'll take me from L.A. to San Francisco on less than a tank of gas.

The principal difference between the two systems is that in a series hybrid, the gasoline engine is always on, while in a parallel one, it turns on and off as needed. In city driving, it is constantly turning off at stops, and often won't turn back on for awhile in heavy traffic, creeping on electric only. The hybrids create more electricity than they can use, so this kind of driving is especially good.

My freeway driving--even with AC--is in the low fifties, which is slightly better than claimed. Ironically, the very best mileage is in heavy freeway traffic, especially in completely jammed situations; in these, my mileage is above 80 mpg if I'm not running the AC.

Here are some tricks for the Prius: if you're running the defroster, it's engaging the compressor, so it's drinking more power. Unlike a conventional car, you want to accelerate quickly and get up to speed; gentle acceleration is as bad for their mileage as it is good for a gas-only car.

Oh, by the way: they have GREAT acceleration, especially if you're not at a full stop with the gasoline engine off. Even in that situation, starting off as electric only before the gas engine engages, it still has quite a snap to it.

People are also nice to you on the street; they smile and give you the thumbs up. (They also like the Edwards sticker...)

I have heard absolutely nothing bad about any Prius. My only complaint is that the turn signal bell is too quiet, so after a lane-change or soft turn I often drive on with it still blinking.

My wife and I are both over six feet tall, and it's just fine.

Great car.

[NV Whino]

8. I drove a Prius for three days

while the dealer fixed something they broke on my Celica. Based on where I drive—up and down a hill almost every day—the Prius didn't get that much better mileage than my Celica. I get 35 to 40, it got average 42. Granted, every little bit helps, but you have to take all you driving factors into consideration.

But hooray for the free parking! Not to mention, hybrid technology is only in the beginning stages, and it can only get better... with a little encouragement such as free parking.

[terrierist]

25. Toyota Prius is an amazing car

I bought one six months ago. It's been solid as a rock, comfortable to drive, averages about 50 mpg on regular gas, has a range of about 400 miles before filling up, and the battery has an 8-year warranty. I took a 1500 mile trip thru Maine & New Hampshire last month and averaged 55 mpg. It pollutes practically ZERO. I have no regrets whatsoever about buying it. Usually, the biggest critics of hybrids are people who've never ridden in them.

[Mika]

7. I oppose this

Why is every incentive in line with the Grover Norquist plan - to reduce the tax base and starve government until it can be drowned in the bathtub.

Maybe some haven't noticed that local governments are pinched "in these times" and need every dime of parking revenue they can get.


Here's a better idea;

Why not keep the parking fees as they are for hybrids and triple the fees for the 6000 lb SUVs that the owners get the tax credit for buying?

[NV Whino]

11. Rethink your idea

First, how is the parking meter going to distinguish between a hybrid and a Hummer? Parking inforcement can. They simply don't give a ticket to an expired meter for a hybrid.

And you pick up tax revenue in other ways. Higher license fees for SUVs. Higher prices at the gas pump. You give the tax incentive to hybrids and take it away from SUVs. Etc. Read Hawkins" (of Smith and Hawkins) book about how to promote conservation and and get out of the oil dependency mess we currently are in. (Sorry can't remember title.)

[Mika]

14. State fees will never pick up lost local parking fee revenues

Parking is usually in the jurisdiction of local city or township governments. Gas taxes & licenses fees are usually state based & I am in agreement with raising those fees for SUVs. My idea proposes the same concept of tax incentive, with revenue gain in mind for local governments instead of more loss.

Federal tax giveaways (like the SUV tax credit) are coming at the cost of cutbacks of federal funding of a wide variety of local projects, including local police and parking forces. Why shouldn't cities and towns get some of that SUV tax credit giveaway back?

[NashVegas]

15. I Agree - Bad Idea

Hey, I'd love to own a hybrid, but guess what? I'm not taking out another car loan, ever. When their resale value comes down to my income level, I'll buy a used.

[cprise]

19. That is a good point

The Euros are implmenting tax incentives based on a car's rated milage. People with very efficient cars will receive incentive money; cars with average milage will have no difference in tax; and gas-guzzlers will have to pay a tax penalty.

Also, focusing on hybrids is wrong. It should be based on the car's milage and emissions.

[tinrobot]

27. Hidden costs.

Hybrids will pay themselves back in terms of less pollution for the city, that has be worth something. I'm sure there are other hidden benefits as well.

[htuttle]

9. There ought to be free scooter parking, too

An awful lot of the people who are driving around downtown in US cities could do just as well riding a scooter.

In addition to double or triple the mileage of any automobile you'll see (even hybrids), you can park 4 scooters in the same space as a single automobile. Four-cycle scooters also produce a fraction of the emissions of a car -- and I'm referring to the larger, 125cc+ scooters, not the little Sprees.

I've been riding a 150cc scooter year round in Wisconsin for the last 18 months. I'm averaging over 100 MPG. I spend about $1 every 2 weeks on gasoline. Plus, there's nothing like bugs in your teeth to put you in a really good mood. :)

ps. IIRC, I think Seattle has looked at providing free scooter parking downtown to alleviate traffic congestion recently.

[truthisfreedom]

10. can't you just park on the sidewalk? that's what i do here in

minneapolis, and i've never had a problem.

[htuttle]

12. It's legally sort of ambiguous, especially for larger scooters

If you have a little 50cc Honda, you can probably get away with it, but if your scooter can go over 35mph, it's legally a motorcycle in WI, and you have to get motorcycle plates. I don't think you're supposed to park motorcycles anywhere you can't park cars.

I usually park in a legal parking spot, except at work (where I know I can get away with it).

[truthisfreedom]

22. i have a little Italjet scooter, a moped, with moped plates. it goes 50,

but i still park it on the sidewalk whenever it seems safer than leaving it on the street.

[question everything]

16. Sorry, should have put "from" in front of the link

The story is part of the "Region Update" and you will have to scroll down to the next story..