VANCOUVER, B.C.: The B.C. government must explain why it cost $170,000 per year to administer its electric vehicle decal program, according to documents obtained by the CTF. 

“It boggles the mind that the B.C. government had a bureaucrat making six figures to mail stickers to people who own Teslas and EV Hummers," said Carson Binda, B.C. Director for the CTF. “It’s good the government has canceled this program, but it’s hard to understand why bureaucrats burned so much money because it was obviously a big waste of money from the beginning.”   

Displaying an “OK” decal allowed electric vehicle owners to use high occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes. The “OK” decal program was introduced in 2016 and eliminated in August 2025. Around 120,000 decals were mailed out during that time period. 

“The work of one Clerk 9 position and a portion of the Climate Action budget are dedicated to the program,” according to a briefing note obtained by the CTF. 

The cost to administer the program was forecast at $170,000 in 2025-26, up $40,000 from the $130,000 the program cost in 2024-25.

The budget included $100,000 set aside for salary and benefits for one full-time employee and another $70,000 for decals, stationery, envelopes and stamps. 

“Government shouldn’t have been billing taxpayers six figures for someone to stuff an envelope,” Binda said. “This is an example of government waste at its most frustrating: six figures a year spent on decals for a decade.” 

The government noted the program’s high “administrative burden for low value.” 

More than 70 per cent of police officers said they could enforce HoV-lane rules without the decals, according to the records.