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Free Parking For Hybrids – A Wise Investment In The Future?
Incentives for hybrid vehicle ownership are on the rise here in the U.S.A. In fact, California has become the leader in offering hybrid car incentives nationally; offering more perks for hybrid owners than any other state. Some employers hand out cash incentives to employees towards the purchase of a hybrid, others offer free or discounted parking. Encouraging others to purchase a hybrid has one very important beneficiary – the environment. While doing something good for the air, they also save consumers untold thousands on the cost of gasoline, insurance, parking fees and even taxes!
Like with other environmental issues, California takes the lead in hybrid incentives. It's not only the state; municipalities are getting in on the act. San Jose and Los Angeles both offer free parking to hybrid owners. Outside of California, New Haven, CT and Albuquerque, NM have begun to give free parking to hybrid car owners as well.
Most of these cities require that hybrid owners contact their civic transportation department, go through a registration process and then receive their parking decal. However, many hybrid owners never take the time to do this and therefore forgo the benefit offered to them. Police in these cities are being educated about hybrids so as to be able to spot those trying to use city decals to park non-hybrid vehicles for free.
Some cities are not going quite as far as those mentioned above, instead offering discounted parking. For example, Baltimore, MD offers discounted parking to hybrid drivers at many city parking facilities, and has even reserved convenient parking spaces for hybrids. After applying for a permit, drivers are assigned one based on availability; there is already a waiting list. In addition, Westchester, NY has set aside special parking spots for hybrids in city owned lots. While not a city, it is worth noting that the University of Miami gives a $50 parking discount to hybrid owners.
Will offering free parking for hybrids pay dividends in the future? At this point, it is hard to say. Though the research shows that hybrids are certainly good for the environment and lead to reduced pollution, many cities are offering only a small amount of parking spaces for hybrids. This may not be enough in and of itself to lead consumers to make a purchase of a hybrid, but are doubtlessly having some impact on a local level. These cities are at the very least, sending a positive message.
While state and city governments may be experiencing a loss in the short term due to offering breaks in parking costs, they may well be recouping these losses in the long term in the form of less outlay for environmental damage related expenses. Besides, free parking for hybrids seems a small sacrifice to make for the larger goal of promoting environmental responsibility. These incentives are also far cheaper than even public service announcements. Therefore, incentives are a great way for cities and states to send a message in a cost effective way. For hybrid owners, they are a nice bonus to have on top of drastically lower fuel costs and the good they are doing the environment.
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