July 14, 2025
Vancouver, BC – The Government of British Columbia has announced a common-sense change to how zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) access high occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes – eliminating the requirement for a specialized decal and instead adopting clear signage to guide drivers.
Government recently announced that it is moving forward with a legislative amendment to remove the decal requirement from Division 42 of the Motor Vehicle Act Regulations (MVAR). The change is expected to improve efficiency, reduce red tape, and save already stretched taxpayer dollars.
In the program’s seven years of existence, the decal program has cost the province more than $450,000, with over half the amount allocated to staffing. Additional costs were related to building an online application system and producing and mailing decals.
“While initially very useful when EV numbers were low, it no longer offered good value given BC’s significant ZEV numbers,” said Blair Qualey, President and CEO of the New Car Dealers Association of BC. “The is what common sense looks like: recognizing when a policy has outlived its usefulness and replacing it with something more practical and cost effective.”
Today, nearly 200,000 ZEVs are on the road in British Columbia, and many more arrive from other jurisdictions where such decals are not required, creating enforcement challenges and administrative inefficiencies.
The updated approach will rely on standardized highway signage indicating that qualifying clean energy vehicles, and vehicles with two or more occupants are eligible to travel in HOV lanes across BC.
About the NCDA: The New Car Dealers Association of BC (NCDA) represents over 400 new car and truck dealers throughout British Columbia who provide 30,000 family supporting jobs and are responsible for close to $17 billion in retail sales in the province. The Association speaks on behalf of the retail automotive industry and advocates on legal, environmental, and consumer issues relating to vehicle sales in British Columbia.
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Contact:
Brendan Quinn
604-805-4821
