Eric, check your facts please. No White sticker every for the Volt. They will get a Green one if they qualify. You need to update story and title.

Eric, The Green sticker is also limited to the first 40,000 vehicles that qualify (GM, Toyota ...). White is unlimited.

@Anonymous, The Volt can go 25-50 miles all electric at 1 to 101 mph so it has a pure electric mode. The difference is after it's 25-50 miles it has a generator/assist that can continue to propel it electrically or electric/ICE assisted depending on speed.

On forums like these we really need to get away from mine is bigger/better than yours and one solution is better than the other. One size does not fit all in the real world.

@ex-EV1 driver - Good point!

Value of HOV stickers. This varies significantly according to your specific situation. A typical example might be: 10 minutes saved / day * 250 work days / year = 41.66 hours / year. 41.66 hours * $30/hour after taxes = $1250 / year. $1250 * 3 years until program expires = $3750.

There's also a chance it will be extended past 3 years.

@Jose G,
While I don't fully support hybrids in the carpool lane, I do support a program where the first X vehicles of a particular emissions improving technology get carpool lane privileges for a short (3 years is probably ok) time period in order to prime the pump and help the fledgling technology to get to commodity production. At the end of those 3 years, those vehicles should no longer get that privilege and the bar should be raised higher.
For example, if the number of 'privileged vehicles' is 70,000 for California, then we previously allowed ZEVs (CARB rated Zero Emissions Vehicles) and AT-PZEV (Advanced Technology - Partial Zero Emissions Vehicles - a smarmy lie to allow fume spitting gas guzzlers to get green points but nonetheless, an improvement over most gas guzzlers) hybrids with greater than 45 mpg EPA rating. They quickly sold out of those 70,000 stickers and 3 years later, the AT-PZEVs were kicked out. The bar was raised to AT-PZEV plug-in hybrids with little restriction on them. These will undoubtedly sell out the 70,000 quickly with ZEVs and AT-PZEVs. In 3 years, they can kick out the AT-PZEVs and possibly the unrestricted ZEVs in favor of higher restrictions. Maybe AT-PZEVs with some reasonable minimum electric range or maybe there will already be over 70,000 ZEVs on the road so gas guzzlers need not apply.
Hopefully at some point there will actually be critical mass of EVs (PHEV and BEV) so that our gasoline consumption is significantly reduced along with their associated emissions and there won't be any need to grant them any special privileges any more at all!
Of course, Gov Brown is moving toward trying to get rid of HOV carpool/clean air decal lanes and start charging money for Diamond Lane access anyway. This will allow him to collect the $3750 that Jose G computed to buy votes instead of letting it go toward the development of technologies that will benefit mankind so this probably is a thing of the past anyway.

Come now, Mike... how much clean air do we really need?

I can't take credit. I pirated it from Lee Iococca who was complaining about clean air regs.

Ah... here's the full quote:
"We've got to pause and ask ourselves: How much clean air do we need ?"--Lee Iacocca"

Enjoy it while you can. The government is more interested in fattening up their bank accounts and pensions, than clean air, so everyone is being kicked out of the HOV lanes come Jan. 1, 2015 to make way for the Lexus Lanes. The ousting includes EV's and NGV's, not just hybrids.

@Anonymous, To answer your question: Because it is more efficient to use that natural gas in a combined cycle power plant, even with electricity transmission losses, than it is to compress it and burn it in an ICE.

And that "toxic battery system" stuff is hokum. As is the "14 hour charge"—two the three hours is typical, and five to six hours from low to full, which is rarely needed. You might want to do your homework before slamming EVs in a plug-in cars forum.