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4 Ways to Get Financial Help to Buy an E-Bike

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As more people turn to bikes for transportation, e-bikes have gained in popularity. They give riders greater range and carrying capacity. For many, an e-bike is a workable alternative to car ownership. But e-bikes aren’t cheap. CalBike is making financial help to buy an e-bike a top priority in 2021.

Find out more about CalBike’s e-bike campaign
Sign our e-bike rebate petition

Here are four ways we believe Californians should be able to get financial help to buy an e-bike.

Live in a county that gives residents financial help to buy an e-bike

A few California counties have e-bike rebate or purchase incentive programs. Unfortunately, most don’t and many of the rebates are too small to make e-bikes truly affordable. Here are the county programs we know about. Let us know if we missed one.

  • Sonoma County: The utility agency, Sonoma Clean Power, provides discounts of up to $1,000 for qualified customers.
  • Contra Costa County: $150 – $300 rebates on e-bike purchases, allocated to different cities in Contra Costa County.
  • San Diego County: Pedal Ahead is a loan-to-own program with up to 400 e-bikes available to residents of Supervisorial District 4. It appears that all the bikes in this program may have been spoken for already.
  • San Diego: This program is not technically a county rebate. It’s a purchase incentive through BikeSD and Electric Bike Central that gives e-bike purchasers rebates when they buy an e-bike and ride a certain number of miles.
  • Humboldt County: The funds allocated to Redwood Coast Energy’s e-bike rebate program have all been reserved. But check their website in case this e-bike rebate is renewed.

Trade in a polluting car for an e-bike rebate under SB 400

In 2019, CalBike sponsored SB 400, which added e-bike rebates to an existing state program. The program gives low-income residents vouchers in exchange for trading in a polluting vehicle. SB 400 expanded the program to include bike-share memberships and e-bike rebates.

The program is implemented by California’s regional air quality management districts. Low-income residents get a credit of up to $7,500 to put toward clean mobility options, including purchasing an e-bike, when they turn in a polluting car. Program participants can use the funds to buy multiple e-bikes for their family or split the funds between clean mobility transit modes.

Unfortunately, the pandemic delayed implementation in 2020. As of this writing, only one district, the Bay Area Air Quality Management District, has implemented the program, as required by SB 400. CalBike has heard that one additional AQMD has plans to make the e-bike vouchers available in the near future. That will make two out of California’s 35 air control districts. Call your local air quality management district and ask them to implement this essential program right away.

Get financial help to buy an e-bike from the federal government – oh, wait

If you bought an electric car in 2020, you qualified for a federal tax credit of up to $7,500. Unfortunately, the feds don’t have a comparable program or any program to help Americans buy electric bikes. 

We are hopeful that the new Congress will provide financial support for Americans seeking to buy e-bikes. CalBike, with our national allies, will push for federal e-bike rebates, so more people can afford this very green transportation option. At a minimum, Congress should reinstitute the monthly pre-tax subsidy that employers can provide to their (electric or regular) bike commuting employees. Join our list to get the latest news on federal financial help to buy an e-bike.

Join CalBike’s campaign to create a $10 million e-bike purchase incentive program in California 

Assembly Member Tasha Boerner Horvath has introduced AB 117, a bill that will create a $10 million fund for e-bike purchase incentives.

View AB 117 Fact Sheet — Download fact sheet

Please join CalBike in supporting this vital legislation. 

Sign the petition. Tell legislators that it’s time for the state to help Californians join the e-bike revolution.

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CalBike’s Legislative Agenda Moves Toward the Finish Line

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The 2019 session of the California State Legislature ends September 13. Three of CalBike’s bills are close to final approval and we hope to see all three signed into law this year.

The Complete Streets Bill (SB 127-Wiener) has made it most of the way through the legislature. This bill will bring Complete Streets to many local roads and streets that Caltrans controls. Caltrans has chosen to fight this bill, which forces it to implement its own policies. However, relentless pressure from CalBike members and brave leadership from our author Senator Scott Wiener and Assembly Appropriations Committee Chair Assembly Member Lorena Gonzalez have, so far, overcome that resistance. But victory is not assured. We’ll need your help to put pressure on your elected officials in the next few critical weeks. Start by signing our Complete Streets petition and we’ll keep you in the loop about additional actions.

Our E-Bike Vouchers Bill (SB 400-Umberg) passed the Assembly Appropriations Committee and swiftly passed the Assembly Floor on Thursday, August 22nd. This bill will expand green mobility vouchers available when low-income Californians trade in their old polluting cars. If it passes, people will be able to trade smoke-belching vehicles for e-bikes and bikeshare memberships. This bill is now on the Governor’s desk awaiting his signature.

A bill that will allow cities to improve bike lane design at intersections with turn lanes (AB 1266-Rivas) has passed both houses of the legislature and is on Governor Newsom’s desk. We expect that this commonsense bill will be signed into law soon.

It’s not time to pop the champagne corks yet to celebrate victory on CalBike’s sponsored bills, but it’s been a good year for bikes in Sacramento. If the Complete Streets Bill passes, that will truly be cause for celebration.

Other legislation

CalBike has also represented your interests on other important legislation.

We supported a bill (AB 1142) by Assembly Member Laura Friedman to require the Public Utilities Commission to help public agencies meet their greenhouse gas reduction targets by providing data about the transportation impact of Lyft and Uber. This important bill, critical to understanding future transportation patterns, is currently in the Senate Appropriations Committee.

We supported a bill (SB 742) by Senator Ben Alllen to allow Amtrak buses to take passengers on routes that don’t connect to train service. Anybody who’s tried to travel from Bakersfield to Los Angeles on one of the many Amtrak buses that go between those cities only to find that trip is not allowed understands the importance of this reform. That bill has advanced out of the Assembly Transportation Committee and appears likely to win.

Finally, an early victory was the defeat of an attempt (SB 152) to weaken state control over Active Transportation Program funds. This bill would have threatened the gains we made with our allies in ensuring that those funds prioritize the communities that need them most.

These are just a few of the bills we’ve worked on to advance our mission of helping California’s communities become more prosperous, more equitable and more inclusive places where bicycling lets more people live healthy and joyful lives. You can follow the entire (long) list of bills we are engaged with at on our legislative watch page.

 

 

 

Assembly Transportation Committee Supports E-bikes for Mobility Option

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On Monday, July 1, the E-Bikes for Mobility Bill (SB 400 – Umberg) passed in the Assembly Transportation Committee. The vote was 14-0. This bill expands the definition of “mobility options” in the Clean Vehicles for All program to include bikesharing and electric bicycle purchases.

Currently the Clean Vehicles for All program provides vouchers for trading in your old polluting car for low income residents. The vouchers are only good for electric, hybrid, and plug-in cars and “mobility options” like car-sharing memberships and transit passes. 

The addition of bikeshare and e-bikes for mobility in the voucher program will provide an important incentive for Californians to switch from car to bike travel. E-bikes enable more people to ride a bicycle for longer distances, even with physical limitations, difficult terrain, and heavy cargo. This is an important step forward for healthy communities.

By passing the E-bikes for Mobility Bill, California’s Assembly Transportation Committee has taken a very important step in reducing our state’s GHG emissions. A study in Portland found that just a 15% increase in e-bike mode share results in an 11% decrease in CO2 emissions, even when using the dirtiest electricity generation profile in the USA.  Another study found that as many as 50% of trips by electric bicycle would have been car trips, if the rider hadn’t had access to a pedal-assist bike.

The next step for the E-Bikes for Mobility Bill is to move through the Assembly Appropriations Committee. CalBike is committed to getting this important bill signed into law this year.

CalBike Succeeds in Getting E-bike Vouchers through the Senate

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CalBike’s e-bike and bikeshare mobility bill (SB 400, Umberg) cleared the Senate with a unanimous vote yesterday. This bill will add vouchers for e-bike and bikeshare memberships to the mobility options in a state program that provides incentives for low-income Californians to trade in polluting vehicles for clean transportation. If CalBike succeeds in getting this bill passed, it will represent a big step forward in recognizing e-bikes and bikeshare as important transportation options.

The unanimous Senate vote is CalBike’s second victory in two weeks. It shows the broad base of support for e-bikes and bikeshare as transportation choices in California. Thank you to all the CalBike members and supporters who called your state senator ahead of this vote to urge them to support this important bill.

There is more work ahead, however. We still need to get the e-bike and bikeshare mobility bill through the Assembly. After that, we need to make sure Governor Newsom signs it into law. Stay tuned for more opportunities to support clean transportation for all Californians.

 

CalBike Moves Bike-Friendly Bills Forward in Sacramento

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Two important bills for better biking are moving forward in the California legislature. Bike-friendly legislation continues to advance, thanks to the work of CalBike and our partners to keep up the pressure.

Bike-friendly turn lanes bill passes with bipartisan support

AB 1266, introduced by Assemblymember Robert Rivas (D-Hollister), passed on the Assembly floor on May 13, by a vote of 66-0. The next step for this bill is the Senate. We are optimistic that it will be passed into law later this year.

The measure requires Caltrans to develop new bike lane design guidance for planners and engineers. This guidance would facilitate a typical and safe maneuver by people on bicycles: going straight through an intersection via the left portion of a right-turn lane. Currently, design guidance for these features is not included in the state’s official Highway Design Manual. Without guidance, it is difficult for planners to include these markings in street design. The lack of guidance makes it hard for bike riders to safely navigate straight through at an intersection with a turn lane.

AB 1266 resolves these problems. It clarifies the legality of the commonsense position that bicyclists take in the left side of a right-turn lane. The bill also requires the Department of Transportation to develop designs to facilitate this maneuver. 

E-bike vouchers near a vote

SB 400 will add vouchers for e-bikes and bikeshare memberships to a program that helps low-income Californians trade polluting cars for green transportation. The bill has passed out of committee. It heads for a vote on the Senate floor on Monday, May 20.

This bill, introduced by Senator Tom Umberg (D-Santa Ana), is an important step toward recognizing bicycles as part of the clean transportation revolution. The voucher program helps bring transportation justice to California streets, a goal that CalBike strongly supports.

You can help ensure victory for SB 400. Raise your voice before the vote on Monday.

What you can do:

Contact your state senator and urge him or her to support SB 400. You can find your senator here.

Join Senator Umberg on Saturday morning, May 18, in Long Beach for a celebration of SB 400. Learn about e-bikes and bikeshare and support the bill’s passage through the Senate.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

BLACK LIVES MATTER

California will never have the equitable, prosperous and inclusive communities that CalBike advocates for until we address and redress anti-Black violence. We want to actively contribute to ending systemic racism, especially in transportation policy, and most especially in bicycling advocacy. We promise to listen and learn how we can best do this work. To our community members who experience the violence of racism on a daily basis: we see you, we hear you, and we stand with you.

Join the movement for better biking in California

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