NEWS RELEASE

MINISTRY OF
TRANSPORTATION

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New 'green' licence plates selected by Ontarians

McGuinty government promoting green transportation options

November 2, 2009 - Ontarians have voted for a new vehicle licence plate that will encourage consumers to switch to environmentally-friendly cars and trucks.

The new plate will have green lettering on a white background with the picture of a trillium in the middle.

It was selected from four choices in an online vote that ran from July to October.

Drivers sporting these plates on a plug-in hybrid or battery electric vehicle will be able to:

- Use Ontario's High-Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes until 2015, even if there is just one person in the vehicle

- Access recharging facilities at GO Transit and other provincially operated parking lots

- Use designated parking spots at the University of Toronto and private companies such as Walmart Canada.

The Ministry of Transportation and ServiceOntario will work with the plate manufacturer to develop the winning design for production in accordance with technical and readability standards.

The plate is expected to become available in 2010.

"The McGuinty government's plan is to have one out of every 20 passenger vehicles on Ontario's roads an electric vehicle by 2020.

Green licence plates will encourage Ontarians to think green when choosing a vehicle," said Jim Bradley, Minister of Transportation.

Quick facts

The winning design received over 47 per cent of the 14,000 votes cast online.

Ontario's Climate Change Action Plan proposes to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in Ontario to six percent below 1990 levels by 2014, and to 15 percent below 1990 levels by 2020.

Learn more

See the winning plate and final resuts of the online poll.

Read Ontario's Climate Change Action Plan.

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