October 2, 2012 > Governor OKs free toll lane access for clean cars Governor OKs free toll lane access for clean cars By Judy Lin, Associated Press SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP), Sep 28 - Gov. Jerry Brown has signed a bill that will allow the next generation of clean-energy vehicles to access California carpool lanes for free when they are converted to toll lanes. Brown announced Friday that he signed AB2405 by Democratic Assemblyman Bob Blumenfield of Woodland Hills. The bill allows solo drivers of qualified vehicles (http://www.arb.ca.gov/msprog/carpool/carpool.htm ) free access to high-occupancy toll lanes. San Francisco, Los Angeles, Riverside and San Diego are experimenting with so-called HOT lanes to help reduce congestion. Blumenfield's bill seeks to encourage Californians to buy plug-in hybrids and certified zero-emission vehicles, such as those running on electricity, hydrogen fuel cells or compressed natural gas. Access to carpool lanes for solo drivers of hybrid vehicles was phased out last year.