Motorists travelling through New South Wales in an electric vehicle (EV) can continue to use the state’s transit lanes until mid-2025 while driving solo, after an extension was quietly granted late last year.
Since 2022, EV drivers in New South Wales have been able to drive in ‘T2’ and ‘T3’ transit lanes, usually reserved for buses, taxis and vehicles with two or three occupants onboard – hence the name.
The allowance was made to encourage EV uptake, with the incentive of less traffic being a major driving factor.
Initially slated to end in November 2022, the transit lane exemption was extended to October 31, 2023, but shortly before it was meant to be repealed the New South Wales Minister for Roads, John Graham, signed a ministerial order to extend this to June 30, 2025.
To use the T2 and T3 transit lanes with no occupants other than a driver in the car, EVs must have the blue triangular ‘EV’ sticker on their number plates.
The congestion-reduction tactic doesn’t apply to hybrids or plug-in hybrids, some of which can run on solely electric power.
It also applies to hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles (FCEVs), though there are far less of these cars in Australia compared to EVs.
New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory are the only two jurisdictions which allow EVs and FCEVs – also referred to as zero emissions vehicles – to drive in transit lanes during peak periods.
