Photo: Ontario Ministry of Transportation
Forget about those tree-huggin’, earth-lovin’ bumper stickers. Now you can have the ultimate in green identification.
If you drive an eco-friendly plug-in hybrid or battery powered electric vehicle, you’ll qualify for the new Ontario green license plate, coming to bumpers near you as early as next year, according to the Ministry of Transportation.
As a valued member of the green plate privileged class, numerous perks await you. Vehicles sporting the new plate will be allowed in HOV carpool lanes on highways, even if only one person occupies the vehicle, up until 2015.
Access to recharging stations, such as at GO Transit and other provincially owned parking lots, will be available, as well as special parking spots at University of Toronto, certain Wal-Marts, and other locations.
In addition to the already-in-place green vehicle tax rebate, the new Ontario green license plates may help Transportation Minister Jim Bradley reach his government’s goal of having “one out of every 20 passenger vehicles on Ontario’s roads an electric vehicle by 2020.”
Rush hour in HOV lanes may never be the same. At least you’ll be able to admire, as you sit behind the hybrid in front of you, the new plate design apparently chosen by Ontarians themselves out of four choices in an online poll.
