CalBike’s $10M E-Bike Affordability Campaign
E-bikes are the greenest electric vehicle. Now Californians can get purchase incentives to make them more affordable.
We won phase one of our campaign. Now CalBike is working with the California Air Resources Board to roll out a program to help Californians buy e-bikes.
E-bikes combine the bicycle’s efficiency (the “beautiful machine”) with the ease and power of an electric motor. They provide Californians the opportunity to travel much farther, faster, and over more difficult terrain than a regular bike. Studies show that e-bike trips do a great job of replacing car trips. And compared to cars, including electric cars, they are much more affordable to own and operate.
Unfortunately, getting an e-bike in the first place is expensive. Many Californians cannot afford $2,000 or more on an e-bike, so they are stuck paying $100 each time they fill their tank and struggle with repair and maintenance costs that cause many families to sacrifice too much.
E-bikes should be the centerpiece of a strategy to replace gas-powered car trips to reduce air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions while also advancing equity, promoting public health, reducing traffic, helping families save money, and supporting local economies. Now, California has provided funding to support e-bikes.
CalBike’s budget request for $10 million for e-bike purchase incentives is included in the budget approved by the legislature and the governor. CalBike is working with the California Air Resources Board (CARB) to help outline the program. We are proposing a $10 million allocation this year, with continued funding in future years, to implement a program that meets the goals originally included in AB 117 (Boerner Horvath) and the goals outlined below.
California’s E-Bike Affordability Program provides $10 million in subsidies to help people buy e-bikes. The program will begin in late 2022 — date TBD. CalBike will work with the vender CARB chooses to administer the program to help develop guidelines for the equitable distribution of the funds.
We expect this program to help 10,000 Californians buy clean, green e-bikes. We’ll spread the word about how to apply once the details are settled. Sign the form above to be the first to know about California e-bike subsidies.
Dave Snyder, Executive Director California Bicycle Coalition
Jonathan Matz, California Senior Policy Manager Safe Routes Partnership
Joey Juhasz-Lukomski, Executive Director BikeVentura
Michael Schneider, Founder Streets For All
David Diaz, MPH, Executive Director Active San Gabriel Valley
Eris Weaver, Executive Director Sonoma County Bicycle Coalition
Christy Zamani, Executive Director Day One
John Jones III, President/CBO East Side Riders Bike Club
Carolynn Johnson, West Coast Program Manager Institute for Transportation and Development Policy
Allis Druffel, IHM, Southern California Director California Interfaith Power & Light
Maryann Aguirre, Project Director People for Mobility Justice
Bryn Lindblad, Deputy Director Climate Resolve
Andy Hanshaw, Executive Director San Diego County Bicycle Coalition
Denny Zane, Executive Director Move LA
Shiloh Ballard, Executive Director Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition
Liza Lutzker, Coordinating Committee Walk Bike Berkeley
Eli Akira Kaufman, Executive Director Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition
Paul Rabinov, Board member Walk Bike Glendale
Glenn Hammett, President Bike Bakersfield
Anne Wallach Thomas, Executive Director Shasta Living Streets
Dave “Poy” Poyourow, Board Member Bikerowave Co-op, Los Angeles
Brian Wiedenmeier, Executive Director San Francisco Bicycle Coalition
Gina Gallino Cole, Executive Director Bike Santa Cruz County
Heng Lam Foong, Director
Asian Pacific Islander Forward Movement
Patrick Band
Napa County Bicycle Coalition
Peter Choi, Board Member Bicycle Kitchen/La Bici-Cocina
Damian Kevitt, Executive Director Streets Are For Everyone
Steve Dakin, Manager San Jose Bike Clinic
Rick Ellison, Executive Director Bike SLO County
Tarrell Kullaway, Executive Director Marin County Bicycle Coalition
Carter Rubin, Mobility and Climate Advocate Natural Resources Defence Council
Dave Campbell, Advocacy Director Bike East Bay
Ruben Aronin, Senior Vice President Better World Group
Marven Norman, Executive Director Inland Empire Biking Alliance
Colin Bogart, Steering Committee Pasadena Complete Streets Coalition
Kyle Heiskala, Board President BikeSD
Deb Banks, Executive Director
Sacramento Area Bicycle Advocates
Elise Kalfayan, Steering Committee Member
Glendale Environmental Coalition
Julia Randolph, Policy and Outreach Associate
Coalition for Clean Air
Laura Cohen, Western Region Director
Rails to Trails Conservancy
“Biking to work or school is a win-win-win. It’s great for the environment, reduces traffic, and makes for healthier, happier people.” — Assembly Member Tasha Boerner Horvath, AB 117 author, on how she and her family use bikes to travel around their district.
Riders share some of the ways that e-bikes have changed their lives.