At 11 a.m. on the last Wednesday of February, Denver opened its first application window of the year. electric bike rebate program, offers residents up-front rebates of $300 to $1,400 for battery-powered bikes. Within three minutes, all low- and moderate-income vouchers were claimed. By 11:08 a.m., everyone else's rebates were gone and the portal was closed.
Now in its third year, the city of Denver's ambitious campaign to get residents to convert part of their cars into horse riding remains as popular as ever. “We’re really happy that people are really interested in this technology,” Mike Salisbury, the city’s transportation and energy director, told Grist. “Every trip we can convert to electric bikes will be a huge win for climate change.”
Transportation is one of, if not the biggest source of carbon emissions in cities.to cut the footprintswhile officials often turn to expensive items, intensive transportation project and build electric vehicle infrastructure. Denver does these things, but also supports smaller forms of mobility. In just two years, she spent more than $7.5 million on e-bike coupons and supported the purchase of approximately 8,000 battery-powered bicycles. This bike can zip up to 40 miles per hour, power up hills, and carry passengers and cargo.
„We're very bullish on e-bikes,“ Salisbury said. “It has great potential to replace car travel.”
The city says the coupons will save approximately 170,000 miles of car travel per week and approximately 3,300 tons of greenhouse gas emissions annually. The department's Office of Climate Action, Sustainability and Resilience calls it „one of the most effective climate change strategies the city and county of Denver has ever deployed.“
There are about 160 such incentive programs in the U.S. and Canada, and while Denver is not the first to do so, the scale and success of its operations has caught the attention of other governments and utility companies. Congress is taking notice as well: California Rep. Jimmy Panetta Federal Electric Bicycle Incentive Kickstart to the Environment Act, or E-BIKE Actwhich last year offered a 30% federal tax credit for the purchase of electric bikes.
Funded through voter-approved $40 million climate protection funda portion of the city's sales tax will be directed to: decarbonization The program offers income-based rebates that can be redeemed at designated bike shops. By offering discounts at checkout, we help those who can't afford the upfront costs, which typically start at about $1,200 and can reach thousands of dollars.
Residents who make less than 60% of the area's median income of about $52,000 can receive $1,200 for a standard e-bike and $1,400 for a cargo model (useful for hauling packages, making deliveries, or picking up and dropping off children). Recipients with moderate incomes can receive between $700 and $900, and others between $300 and $500. Online applications are made several times a year and vouchers are provided on a first-come, first-served basis.
![bike shop](https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/EbikeStore.jpg?quality=75&strip=all)
![bike shop](https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/EbikeStore.jpg?quality=75&strip=all)
The goal is to reduce emissions from Denver's second-highest emitting transportation sector. greenhouse gas, by targeting short-distance vehicle movements. According to Salisbury, 44 percent of residents' journeys are less than five miles, and most are less than 10 miles, a distance that can be traveled by e-bike.
“Electric bikes are not going to replace every trip for every person,” he said. “But there is great potential, especially in urban environments, to replace the short trips someone is making on their own. Or they could use an electric cargo bike to take their kids to school.”
It's one of the many ways Jeff Gonzalez, a marketing professional and father who lives near the University of Denver, uses the e-bike he bought with a coupon two years ago.
At the time, Gonzalez was driving a customized Toyota Tacoma pickup. „It was great, but it was gas-guzzling,“ he told Grist. Gasoline prices were so high that he and his wife tried to drive as little as possible. But the two young children became too heavy to be towed by the family's bike trailer, affectionately known as „the tank.“ When an employee at a local bike shop mentioned a discount on e-bikes, he decided to take a test ride.
„I thought, 'This is pretty cool,' and I asked them, 'Can I hook a horse and buggy in the back?'“ Gonzalez sold his truck, applied for a voucher and bought a bicycle. I bought it. He started riding it to the grocery store, to take his kids to school, and to commute 44 miles round trip to the office twice a week.
„I think the first summer I was out of the car for about two weeks at a time,“ he said.
![A man is riding an electric bicycle with a trailer](https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/JeffGonzalesEbike.jpg?quality=75&strip=all)
![A man is riding an electric bicycle with a trailer](https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/JeffGonzalesEbike.jpg?quality=75&strip=all)
Provided by City of Denver/Jeff Gonzalez
A 2023 survey of voucher recipients found that 43% of respondents cited commuting as the main reason for purchasing an e-bike, and 84% would take a trip by car at least once a week instead of e-bike. I answered yes. The city estimates that recipients reduce their car miles by an average of 21 miles per week.
Commuting on two wheels often allows you to avoid traffic jams and take a more direct route than public transportation. „People have given me feedback that they don't have to make two or three transfers to get to their destination, and they can now get to work much faster, easier and at a much lower cost. „They send it to us,“ Salisbury said.
Gonzalez said she often feels like she can get to work faster by riding her bike, but even if it doesn't save her time, it's more fun. „Sitting in traffic is the worst,“ he said. „I'd rather travel by bike. If I get tired, I can increase the power level, but I'm still traveling.“
of Rocky Mountain Institute, a clean energy nonprofit, or RMI, if the nation's 10 most populous cities shifted a quarter of all short-distance vehicle trips to electric bikes, they would save 4.2 million barrels of oil and 1.8 million tons of CO2 in a year. I discovered that there is potential for savings. This is the equivalent of shutting down four natural gas plants. As an added bonus, these passengers will save a total of $91 million a month in fuel and vehicle maintenance costs, according to RMI.
but, recent research Researchers at Valdosta State University and Portland State University question the cost-effectiveness of achieving greenhouse gas emissions this way. The authors conclude, „Even if e-bike incentive programs are designed in a cost-effective manner, the cost per tonne of carbon dioxide saved will still be lower than alternatives or a reasonable societal reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.'' „It far exceeds the cost.“ The study concludes that rebate programs can still be beneficial, but may need to be justified with additional benefits, such as promoting physical activity or reducing traffic congestion.
Mr Salisbury said the report's criticisms overlooked how cities must work to reduce emissions in a variety of ways. “There are a lot of other things the city is working on, like building bus rapid transit and other infrastructure, but it will take a long time,” he said. “If we want to achieve savings as quickly as possible, we need to start looking at programs that can help make that happen.”
He also pointed out that increasing access to e-bikes specifically targets one of the city's most difficult areas to decarbonize. “Sure, it’s cheaper to invest in solar arrays, but it does nothing to reduce transportation emissions.”
That's not to say getting residents to trade four wheels for two is as easy as handing out vouchers. E-bikes require infrastructure such as bike lanes that can accommodate both e-bikes and analog bikes, as well as places to charge and safely store the bikes.
In the past five years, the city has added 137 miles. “Highly comfortable” bicycle lane.Last month, the company Denver Mobility Incentive Programprovides grants to nonprofits and other organizations to install bike storage lockers, plug-in locations, and even setups. electric bike library Residents can rent vehicles for free.
„It's all part of the ecosystem,“ Salisbury said. “Without co-developed infrastructure, leaving 8,000 e-bikes on the road will be far less effective.”
Gonzalez uses that infrastructure when he has to drive through crowded downtown Denver to get to his office. „About 90 percent of the time I ride in protected bike lanes,“ he said. „It's now much easier to bike 12 miles across town.“
![denver bike lanes](https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/DenverBikeLanes.jpg?quality=75&strip=all)
![denver bike lanes](https://grist.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/DenverBikeLanes.jpg?quality=75&strip=all)
Hyun Chan/Denver Post via Getty Images
The city also needed to address how to ensure that all residents had access to the program. More than 44 percent of vouchers went to low-income applicants, but the first-come, first-served application process has been criticized for favoring people with time and computer access to log on as soon as the portal opens. . And so far, the racial demographics of recipients have not been proven to reflect the city's population. In 2023, only 8% of survey respondents were Latino and 3% of them were Black, but Denver's population 29% Latino, almost 9% Black. Despite offering up to $1,400 for adaptive bikes, the program has only distributed about 20 so far.
In response, the City of Denver partnered with community-based organizations to distribute rebates directly to people who may not know about them or be unable to apply for them. This year, 600 vouchers will be distributed through these organizations.
Those who have the least access to programs may also benefit from them the most. Research results show that applicants who received vouchers through community organizations redeemed 80% more vehicle miles than those who received standard vouchers.
This is also the first year that the city of Denver will offer a specific rebate amount to moderate-income applicants, who earn close to the city's median income but need a little more help getting a ride. This is an attempt to address the „missing middle class'' of people.
What the city will continue to struggle with this year is that demand for vouchers at all levels far exceeds supply. The next round of recruitment will begin on April 30th.
One of those applications could be from the Gonzalez family. Now that we have our third baby, we are thinking of buying her a second e-bike to carry the whole family. „When this little guy grows up, he'll probably get another one,“ Gonzalez said. Especially if the city still offers vouchers. “These aren’t the cheapest things in the world, so the rebate program certainly helps.”