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The Case Against E-Bike Licensing

September 5, 2023/by Kendra Ramsey

Amid rising safety concerns, particularly in Southern California, proposals to add more restrictions to who can ride an e-bike and to require e-bike riders to have a license have gained steam. In 2024, the legislature will consider a bill to do just that. And the Huntington Beach City Council has announced its intention to develop a proposal to require bike licensing within its city limits.

Unfortunately, this is the wrong solution. Traffic violence is a serious issue; constraining e-bike riders isn’t the solution.

Why bike education is good and mandating it is bad

One of the challenges of this conversation is that education about how to safely operate a bicycle is a good thing. It would be great if every bike rider got training on how to ride safely. Teaching elementary school students how to ride a bike responsibly would be excellent. However, requiring a license will create opportunities for harassment of the most vulnerable riders and deter people from riding.

Requiring riders to complete a safety course, even if it’s not called a license, is, in effect, the same thing. Police will be able to stop e-bike riders and ask for proof of safety course completion. We know that police are more likely to stop Black and Latino bike riders, and those stops are more likely to include harassment, expensive tickets for minor infractions, and sometimes even violence. The people least able to complete a course or get an e-bike license — because of lack of access, money, or time to complete the training — are also the most likely to be targeted while riding, even if they are riding safely.

Plus, restrictions on bikes, even in the name of safety, reduce ridership. A helmet law in Australia caused a dramatic dropoff in ridership. The bicycle is an efficient and essential tool to fight climate change, and e-bikes make bicycling accessible to a wider range of people. E-bike licensing requirements are unlikely to measurably reduce the prevalence of crashes (see below for why), but they will reduce ridership just as California needs to employ every strategy to mitigate the climate crisis.

People who drive cars should learn about bike riding

Some of the prejudice against people on bikes comes from people who don’t ride bikes and don’t understand safe bike riding. Vehicle driver education doesn’t adequately address how to safely share the road with someone riding a bike, even though bikes are fully legal vehicles on a majority of roadways. Advocates continue to work to add more about bicycling to driver education and bring bike riding handbooks to the DMV. In the meantime, car drivers, please take a bicycle education class! (Bike riders should take a class, too — even veteran riders may have something to learn.)

Many local bicycle coalitions and even some local governments offer in-person and online trainings, usually for free. New resources specifically for electric bikes are coming online as well: PeopleforBikes has created a series of short e-bike safety videos, the CHP has created online safety information pursuant to AB 1946, and the Air Resource Board will release a half-hour e-bike safety training video in the next few weeks. (We’ll review and compare all three once they’re live.)

Regulating e-bikes won’t solve the problem of traffic violence

The US has a long and inglorious history of blaming and penalizing victims rather than perpetrators. We’ve thrown sex-trafficked women in jail for prostitution, thrown out rape charges based on the outfit the woman (or girl) was wearing, arrested and brutalized Black people for being victims of violence—the list goes on.

Given this history and our car-centric culture, it’s not surprising that the first response to an increase in collisions that injure or kill people riding e-bikes is to regulate, control, and limit not reckless car driving or dangerous streets, but e-bikes.

Unfortunately, even if we removed all e-bikes (and classic bikes) from our roadways tomorrow, we wouldn’t solve the problem of traffic violence. Everyone still needs to walk at some point, and pedestrians now make up a quarter of California’s traffic fatalities, despite having a much smaller mode share than motor vehicles.

Plus, people who drive cars will find other things to hit, such as homes, shopping centers, and movie theaters. Those three examples are all from California, all from the past three months; there are many more.

People crash their cars into all sorts of things; they did it before e-bikes became popular, and they’ll continue to do it until we design our streets for safety rather than speed.

Who loses when you add obstacles to bike riding?

E-bikes are a terrific way to get around for people who are too young to drive or don’t want a driver’s license. Older adults and people with disabilities can greatly increase their mobility and get healthy exercise with e-bikes. The motor power allows people with long commutes, parents who need to transport children, and people who need to haul groceries or equipment to do it by bike.

If we require a license to ride an e-bike, low-income people will be saddled with unaffordable tickets. Fewer people will ride. Communities of color, who often live in neighborhoods poorly served by transit, will be most impacted.

More people will drive, and fewer people will bike. So, in the end, we all lose.

E-Bike Work Group Report Back: April 26, 2023

May 12, 2023/by Laura McCamy

On April 26, 2023, CARB held another well-attended work group meeting to gather feedback on the details of its Electric Bicycle Incentive Project. One of the major takeaways is that the statewide program launch is pushed back yet again: Most Californians won’t be able to apply for a voucher until at least the third quarter of 2023.

Here’s what else we learned at the meeting. We’ve included the video and presentation below, in case you want to learn more.

New details about program implementation

As it has throughout the process, CARB has taken feedback from prior work groups and revised the program based on stakeholder input. For example, recipients can now use part of their incentives to purchase safety gear. The only gear listed was helmets, and CARB specifically excluded lights, reflective gear, and racks. The program requires eligible bikes to come with lights (most e-bikes have built-in lights), so that makes sense. However, based on feedback, we’re hopeful that cargo racks will also be an allowed expense. CalBike would like to see locks included, since a secure lock for an e-bike can be costly.

Participants will have 30 days to purchase a bike and redeem their vouchers and may ask for a one-time extension if they need more time. CalBike is advocating for extending that 30-day window, since researching and buying an e-bike is often a lengthy process.

Vouchers will be limited to one per person, but there is no household limit. Participants will be required to own the bike for at least one year.

Here are some of the other details we learned.

What do we know about the e-bike incentive application process?

We still don’t have all the details about the application process. CARB promises that a guide will be available online ahead of program launch so people interested in participating will have time to prepare.

CARB did share an outline of the application process as they envision it currently. Applicants would submit proof of income and residency, choose the bike they want to buy, take a 90-minute online bike safety and environmental class, then find out if they qualify for a voucher.

CalBike strongly objects to the process as currently outlined, and we have sent a letter to CARB detailing our recommendations. Our concerns include:

It will be hard to choose a bike without confirmation of the voucher amount because the person won’t know how much money they will need to come up with to complete the purchase.
While CalBike supports e-bike safety education and is excited for the resource being developed as part of this program, we feel that education should be a resource, and that any requirement of a lengthy class may serve as a barrier to many trying to access the incentives. We particularly object to requiring participants to sit through any content that isn’t directly related to safe operation and storage of an e-bike.
Requiring two extra steps before applications are vetted will further disadvantage applicants with the least time and/or access to a computer.
Because many Californians are more comfortable in a language other than English and those languages are diverse, an education component will inevitably exclude many potential participants. For comparison, the US Census is conducted in 12 languages in California.

We plan to meet with CARB to discuss these issues, and we’re hopeful that advocacy and lessons from the soft launch will lead to a better application process.

June soft launch

The first phase of the program will be a soft launch in June. With a budget of $300,000, the soft launch will provide 20-40 incentives to applicants in each of four communities that have been historically underserved by CARB programs:

Barrio Logan, San Diego
Fresno
Bayview Hunters Point, San Francisco
California Native Tribal Governments

The soft launch will allow CARB and the administrator to test systems and get feedback on what works and doesn’t work before opening the program statewide.

When will the statewide program launch?

We don’t know exactly when California’s incentives will become available. However, we have heard that the soft launch is expected to take at least two months. Expect a full launch sometime in the fall, after CARB and the administrator have worked out glitches in the application process.

We realize this program has taken an excruciatingly long time to come online. Another reality check: Demand may far exceed the number of incentives available. If you’d like help to purchase an e-bike, check out this list of local programs.

Is anyone already in line to receive an e-bike voucher?

Several people who spoke at the April meeting shared that they had submitted an application for an e-bike voucher last year and wanted to know if they were in line for an incentive. CARB clarified that no one is in line for a voucher yet. Everyone will need to apply once the window opens, later this year.

We don’t know if there will be another work group before the soft launch in June or before the statewide program launch. If you sign up for our email list, we’ll let you know about future meetings and any other information on the status of the program and the application process.

CARB Presentation

Victory! $10 Million E-Bike Affordability Program Included in State Budget

July 2, 2021/by Nicolay Kreidler

Update, 7/14/21: Governor Newsom signed the budget, ensuring that CalBike’s $10 million e-bike affordability program will be funded! CalBike is continuing to work with legislators and program administrators to make sure the program is implemented equitably.

For Immediate Release: 7/2/21

SACRAMENTO – CalBike is thrilled to announce that legislators approved a $10 million e-bike incentive program in next year’s state budget. Funded as part of the state’s campaign to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles, the program will help thousands of Californians get access to e-bikes to replace car trips. Bikes eligible will include bikes “designed for people with disabilities; utility bicycles for carrying equipment or passengers, including children; and folding bicycles.”

CalBike Executive Director Dave Snyder said, “E-Bikes are a great climate investment not just because they don’t emit carbon dioxide, but because thousands of people will learn how safe and fun it can be to replace short car trips with bike trips.”

CalBike, joined by more than 80 allied organizations across the state, submitted a letter of support for Assemblymember Tasha Boerner Horvath’s request for a budget allocation to implement the proposed e-bike incentive program.

“Making e-bikes more affordable is one of the most effective ways to get Californians out of their cars and reduce emissions,” said Assemblymember Boerner Horvath. “I’m thrilled that the full funding I requested for purchase incentives, education, and training is included in the budget we approved. This program represents a priority shift in the right direction and, once implemented, will help folks from all backgrounds choose a healthier, happier way to get around.”

“E-bikes are a key alternative to the automobile for short trips and everyday errands,” said Assemblymember Richard Bloom. “Advanced technology and broad availability are making E-bikes more accessible every day. This funding will provide an incentive that will reduce both traffic congestion and pollution. I am elated that I could play a part in making clean e-bikes more accessible to every Californian.”

The budget language includes:

Electric Bicycle Incentives Project, no later than July 1, 2022, to provide financial incentives for purchasing electric bicycles. Up to 10 percent of the total funding for this purpose is available to support related programs such as safety education programs. Electric bicycles eligible for the incentives include, but are not limited to, those designed for people with disabilities; utility bicycles for carrying equipment or passengers, including children; and folding bicycles.
In the 2023–24 fiscal year, the board shall report to the Legislature on the progress and outcomes of this program, including: (A) the number of rebates awarded, (B) the location of sales for which rebates were awarded, and (C) the estimated climate impact of the program, including estimated greenhouse gases abated.

“E-bikes can be the centerpiece of California’s strategy to replace gas-powered car trips to reduce air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions while also advancing equity, promoting public health, reducing traffic, and helping working families save money,” said Dave Snyder, executive director of CalBike. “Until now, California has focused its efforts on electric cars. This new program breaks that funding dam and begins investing in a technology that is a known carbon crusher, E-bikes. E-bikes are the cleanest EV.”

Californians use their cars mostly for short trips, 60% of all trips are six miles or less. Electric bicycles can easily replace those trips. Electric bicycle users take children to school, haul hundreds of pounds of equipment or groceries, and travel long distances and over steep hills, without breaking a sweat.

But electric bicycles are not nearly as widespread as they should be because they are expensive. Safe electric bikes of respectable durability cost from $2,000 to $5,000 depending on your need.

The Electric Bicycle Incentives Project incentive will enable the switch, simultaneously serving California’s VMT reduction goals and improving the economic security of the recipient. California families burdened with the costs of car ownership can save money by owning an electric bike.

Transportation Committee Endorses E-Bike Affordability

April 9, 2021/by Laura McCamy

CalBike’s E-Bike Affordability Bill (AB 117) had its first victory on Monday when the Assembly Transportation Committee voted unanimously in support of this essential program. Committee Chair Laura Friedman and Member Buffy Wicks asked to be included as co-authors.

Dave Snyder, Vista City Councillor Corinna Contreras, and a number of representatives of environmental groups and individuals spoke in support of the bill during the hearing. Brian Simmons testified eloquently about how his e-bike was essential to his mental and physical healing after losing a leg in military service. Nobody spoke in opposition.

The bill is part of CalBike’s $10M E-Bike Affordability Program. Introduced by Assemblymember Tasha Boerner Horvath, AB 117 establishes an e-bike purchase incentive program which through grants and vouchers will help make e-bikes affordable and accessible to thousands of Californians. Prior to approval, CalBike coordinated amendments among stakeholders to specify the goals of the program. Amendments also removed any reference to funding the program. For the promise of AB 117 to become real, legislators must separately include the $10 million in the state budget.

“The budget process will be key,” said Dave Snyder, CalBike’s Executive Director. “This will be meaningless without a healthy amount of funding.” The $10 million CalBike hopes to win in the 2022 budget is slated to cover the first several years of the program. Snyder hopes that e-bike purchase incentives will be so popular and successful that the state will soon allocate $10 million annually for e-bike purchase incentives.

Funding is the key to removing barriers to e-bike adoption

E-bikes are not only greener than electric cars; they also help people lead more active, healthier lives. And the electricity to power an e-bike costs less than $0.01 per mile.

The biggest barrier to e-bike adoption has been the price. Simple e-bikes of good quality cost more than $1,500, and many of the most useful bikes can cost more than $4,000, well out of the price range for low-income Californians. CalBike’s goal for the program is to connect 10,000 Californians with affordable e-bikes.

The next big test for AB 117 will be the vote on the floor. Many of you emailed your representatives on the Transportation Committee to build support for e-bike purchase incentives. We’ll put out a similar call when the bill comes up for a vote on the Assembly Floor.

But the bigger test for the program will be the budget process. “It’s one thing for legislators to say they support the program in theory,” said Snyder. “It’s more important for them to support it in the budget.”

On Monday, CalBike brings on board a campaign manager to help us win the budget fight. Your support will be critical. Please sign our petition, and include your address, so we know which district you live in to coordinate our advocacy. And please share the petition in your networks.

We can’t avoid the worst effects of climate change unless we transition our transportation sector to cleaner vehicles—quickly. E-bikes are one of the best ways to replace car trips with clean, green transportation. Your support will help us pass and fund this important e-bike affordability program.

#ebikestories Episode 4: E-Bikes Flatten Hills

March 17, 2021/by Laura McCamy

California has lots of hills; they are part of the landscape that makes our state so beautiful. When CalBike asked you to share e-bike stories to support our campaign for a $10 million e-bike affordability program, many of you told us how your e-bikes flatten hills, so you can ride on terrain that might have been too challenging on a manual bike. Here are four inspiring stories of how e-bikes flatten hills.

Kate Blumberg, Portrero Hill, San Francisco

I live at the top of Potrero Hill. I was riding my bike to work for years but I often dreaded coming home and I never left the house on bike unless it was going to be a long ride or a full day. I never got burritos or groceries on bike, mostly going without or driving.

When my son was born I realized that I just couldn’t bike him up the hill—the added weight was too much for me, and I started looking into e-bikes.

Riding home on my first e-bike I remember thinking, everyone in San Francisco should have one of these! I still, 10 years later, bike my son to school and aikido class. And I now also bike to the farmer’s market, grocery store, pizzeria, burrito shop, the best sushi restaurant and everything in between. I pretty much never get in the car unless my destination involves a highway (hiking, surfing and camping all mostly require the car). I definitely use the car less, and I’m happier. And my son is too (he also hates the car).

[I replace car trips with my e-bike] all the time – 25 miles a week or so. That’s lots of trips. The rest of the trips, if I didn’t have an e-bike I would take transit or walk.

Wesley Reutimann, Pasadena

Our household became a one-vehicle household in the suburbs of Los Angeles County about a decade ago, and purchased our first e-cargo bike after starting a family in 2015. In addition to saving on vehicle insurance, registration, maintenance, etc., the change has been a wonderful opportunity to explore southern California with our children on two wheels in a comfortable and safe manner. It’s also made visits to grandparents who live on the top of steep hill manageable with children on a bike. And e-cargo bikes are awesome at making cycling more comfortable on hot days in the inland valleys.

Pre-pandemic the average [on our e-bikes, replacing car trips] was 60-80 miles a week. We use the e-cargo bike to drop the kids off at school, run errands, do shopping around town, and go to local parks and trails.

Helena Worthen, North Berkeley Hills

After I got knee replacements four years ago followed by ablation surgery for A-fib (I am now 77), it was clear that it was time to get an electric bike.

On my first ride, from near Bay sea-level up to the edge of Tilden Park above Berkeley, the steepest hills turned into gentle rollers and all the pain just went away.

With saddlebags, I do all my shopping and anything else that happens between Richmond and downtown Oakland. I don’t try to be an athlete, I just use the full e-assist and enjoy it. Even just in the last four years, routes around the East Bay have gotten more and more marked and protected, making it more relaxing to ride.

I’d guess I ride 15 miles a week – not a lot, really but it’s all my grocery shopping, banking, and library trips. It’s not cardio but at least I’m moving around, so it has to be good.

Eventually, in order to travel out past the 40-mile battery range, we did buy a car, but we had at least three years of living car-free. Our car basically sits in front of the house unless it’s cold, raining hard and I really have to go somewhere. Currently, our car has only gone 2000 miles this last year, and most of that was one trip to LA.

Paola, Carmel

I have lived in Carmel Valley since 1965. I have been involved in county transportation issues at varying times since 1989 and am currently on the Carmel Valley Road Committee as spokesperson for bicyclists needs. I started riding to school in Monterey when I was fourteen. I have always ridden to do errands and for pleasure.

I researched e-bikes for a good fifteen years. In 2017, electric bikes had evolved sufficiently in range that I purchased one. At that time I was 56 years old, so I was tired of riding against the wind and dealing with the steep hills solely under my own power. While I do still need to use my car for certain things, I ride as often as possible.

Now, I have logged almost 8,000 miles doing errands locally since I purchased the bike. It is the way to go!

Monica de la Cruz, San Diego

My e-bike has made a world of difference, especially through the darkness and difficulties of the pandemic. I lost a very close friend and a family member in the fall of 2020, and between the immense grief and the isolation of working from home, I was really struggling. Regular bike rides became my method for coping. It’s still a difficult time, and I will not minimize mental health issues, but the rides afford me space to breathe, explore the city, feel wind and sunlight on my skin, take screen breaks, process, and feel a little lighter. Through this last year, that space has been essential. Nothing could convince me to trade my e-bike rides for a car commute.

Previously, the multi-legged transit ride to the office was too long to be a sustainable commute, and the length and incline were personally too challenging on a traditional bike, so I usually drove or worked from home.

My e-bike has cut out half of the transit trip so now I can work from the office on a routine basis, which has improved my work schedule. Thanks to my e-bike, I can live car-free, do just about any errand, and enjoy my city (even the hills). I ride about 30 miles a week on my e-bike.

Do you have a story about how e-bikes flatten hills in your neighborhood? Or commuting, running errands, riding with kids, or another tale of happy e-biking that you’d like to share? Tweet your e-bike story @CalBike or share it with us on Facebook using the hashtag #ebikestories.

Do you believe everyone deserves to be able to purchase an e-bike? Support CalBike’s campaign to create a $10 million e-bike afforadbility program. Sign our petition.

I Support the $10M E-Bike Affordability Program

A Preview of the CalBike 2021 Agenda

October 1, 2020/by Laura McCamy

Update: Attend our Agenda Announcement and Campaign Kickoff Party on December 10.

Oh, 2020. It’s been a hard year for too many. We extend our sympathies to everyone who is suffering from loss.

Looking ahead to 2021, we here at CalBike have reasons to be optimistic. Among the silver linings of this tough year is that many people have turned to bicycling during the pandemic. Our demands for safer streets will be buoyed by a larger constituency.

Another silver lining is that our light legislative agenda this year gives us more time to plan for an ambitious 2021. We’re excited about the opportunity to make meaningful change for health, safety, community, equity, prosperity, and climate.

Here’s a preview of what we’re thinking.

CalBike 2021 Agenda

CalBike’s plans for 2021 are still developing, but we have five initiatives already in the works.

E-bike purchase incentives. Our e-bike rebate bill, which would allow people to get a voucher to buy an e-bike, was one of the casualties of the pandemic in 2020. We’ll bring it back better than ever in 2021. Electric bikes have been proven to be the best option for replacing car trips. They have surged in popularity this year. However, the price tag for an e-bike puts one out of reach for many Californians. We believe an e-bike purchase incentive program is the most effective way to make energy-efficient transportation available to everyone.

Micromobility. Shared bikes and scooters should be integrated with public transit and accessible to all. We want cities to take ownership of their shared mobility systems so users aren’t subject to the whims and price increases of a private company. This will also ensure that micromobility options are available in neighborhoods that have been historically underserved by transit.

Complete Streets at Caltrans. Despite the pandemic, CalBike was able to work with Caltrans to greatly improve its Complete Streets policies in 2020. The agency increased funding for biking and walking improvements and made positive changes to bring the needs of people who aren’t in cars into their planning processes. However, there is still more work to be done to change decades of car-centric planning at Caltrans. In 2021, CalBike will redouble our efforts to transform Caltrans-controlled local streets into Complete Streets.

Rewriting the street design rulebook. Two manuals hold sway over local planning decisions about street design in California: the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) and the Highway Design Manual (HDM). If you’ve ever been at a planning meeting in your city and watched an innovative bike facility get rejected, the MUTCD and HDM may have been to blame. Planners are often reluctant to approve roadway designs that aren’t in them. CalBike is working with state administrators to revise these manuals to include designs for safer streets for people on bikes. These changes could turn a no into a yes the next time your local bicycle coalition lobbies for a new protected bike lane or protected intersection.

Equitable traffic enforcement. CalBike is committed to doing our part to change state laws about traffic enforcement to reduce the risk of police violence for Black and Brown people. The measures we are considering include:

- Automated speed monitoring and ticketing.
- Changing the Vision Zero grant process to money doesn’t go pay for more police traffic stops and instead goes to measures that will be more effective at reducing traffic injuries and fatalities.
- Decriminalizing walking and biking. This includes legalizing mid-block crossings (jaywalking) and the Idaho stop (which would allow bikes to treat stop signs as yields).
- Reforming Office of Traffic Safety grants so they don’t support police stings of bike riders running stop signs on quiet, low-traffic residential streets.

Finishing 2020 strong.

CalBike has two important initiatives that we’re still working on that we believe will make a big difference for bikeable communities.

Quick-build

CalBike has partnered with Alta Planning to produce the Quick-Build Toolkit. Quick-build is a revolutionary philosophy that streamlines the roadway design process. This puts the bike lanes and other safety features we need on our streets in months rather than years. Our design manual (coming very soon) will give planners across California the tools they need to quickly implement bike projects as we emerge from the pandemic and confront the climate crisis.

Election 2020

Many of us are, understandably, laser-focused on the presidential election this year. However, as we know from firsthand experience fighting for bills in unfriendly committees in the State legislature, the people we choose to represent us in our state and local government play a bigger role in shaping how bike-friendly our communities are.

We have endorsed candidates in several races that we believe will be crucial to achieving our ambitious goals for 2021. Please check out our endorsements and support bike-friendly candidates.

Ride your bike + Raise money for CalBike = Fun!

The California Dream Ride is one of CalBike’s biggest annual fundraisers. This year, the Dream Ride Challenge is a self-guided 300-mile ride to wherever you choose. Ride all 300 miles in the saddle, or earn miles and get rewards for taking on fun, bike-related activities and daily pop-up challenges along the way.

As a Dream Rider, you’ll join a fabulous bicycling community online to share the joy of riding in a brand new way. We’ve got perks and prizes, tips and tricks, an awesome support team, Happy Hours with special guests like mountain biking pioneer Gary Fisher, and so much more.

Best of all, the Dream Ride Challenge is a great way to raise money to support CalBike’s work in 2021 and beyond. You can register for as little as $25 and raise money as you ride. We hope you’ll join us from October 3-11 for this fun event.

We hope that 2021 is better than 2020!

No one can argue with the fact that 2020 has been crazy. For a lot of people, it has been a simply terrible year. Our heart goes out to anyone who’s dealing with COVID-19 or who lost a loved one, everyone who lost a job or had to risk their health to keep a job, everyone on the West Coast dealing with fires and smoke. In addition, while racist violence and oppression started long before 2020, the burdens of our inequitable society have supersized this year’s many tragedies for Californians of color.

Here’s to a better year in 2021.

E-Bikes Deserve the Same Rebates as Electric Cars

January 28, 2020/by Kevin Claxton

When you buy an electric car in California, you get help from the state. Purchases of all-electric automobiles (EVs) and plug-in hybrids are eligible for a rebate of up to $7,000. If instead, you’d like to buy what is arguably the most climate friendly practical form of transit – an electric bike – you are on your own. In 2020, we hope to change that. One of CalBike’s top agenda items is to push for a rebate program for people who purchase electric bikes, because people deserve support for biking.

The case against electric cars

Are EVs better for the environment than cars that run on gasoline? Absolutely. They don’t spew carbon dioxide or harmful toxins in their exhaust. They use energy from the electrical grid which gets about a third of its power from renewable sources and a little more than half from sources that don’t emit carbon. That’s definitely an improvement, but it’s clear that even if every Californian traded in their gas guzzler for a zero emissions car today, it would not be enough to solve our climate crisis. Besides, EVs still cause dangerous pollution, from tire and brake particulate; they create congestion, cause traffic deaths, and take up precious space in our crowded cities.

And crucially, most of the fleet is a fantasy in the short term. Sales of electric cars in California rose by more than 60% between 2017 and 2018, but they still accounted for less than 8% of all new cars sold in the state. An even smaller fraction of existing cars are electric. Californians drive approximately 35,700,000 cars; about 35,300,000 of them are not zero-emission electric vehicles. It will be a long time before a substantial number of them are electric.

Experts agree, the only way to really tackle the environmental crisis caused by cars is to reduce the use of cars. We drove ourselves into this crisis; we can’t drive ourselves out of it.

Time is running out to address the climate crisis

There are several good ways to reduce the number of miles that people travel in solo vehicles. Near the top of the list is improved public transit, transit-oriented development in walkable neighborhoods, and, of course, bicycling. While new transit services and housing construction will take years to complete, the fastest and best way to get people out of their cars is the bicycle. It’s important to move fast: as the most recent IPCC report showed, we don’t have that long.

The case for electric bikes

Bicycles are a near-perfect form of transportation. They give riders physical exercise, take up little space on the street or for parking, and they are always zero emissions. But not everyone is willing or able to get around town by bike. Barriers include physical ability, feeling too vulnerable on the road, limited range, not wanting to arrive at work sweaty, and the need to transport kids/groceries/stuff.

The e-bike is a solution to all or most of these problems. The extra power extends the range of bike trips while making riders safer. Electric cargo bikes are ideal for family transportation. In fact, studies have shown that people with access to e-bikes use them to replace car trips about 50% of the time.

However, price is a significant barrier to e-bike adoption. Electric bikes often cost over $2,000 and cargo bikes can cost even more. While the price is a fraction of the cost of buying a car, it is still a barrier for many Californians.

A rebate program for e-bike purchases would cost a fraction of the EV program. And, unlike the car-centric program, an e-bike rebate would be a significant step toward climate progress for California.

The budget process

Any e-bike rebate program will be funded through the California budget process, which runs from January through June. Here’s a rundown on this year’s budget and the prospects for e-bike rebates.

On January 10, Governor Newsom released a $222B proposed budget for the 2020-2021 fiscal year. The budget plan includes the allocation from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, which includes incentives for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. As the budget takes shape, CalBike will lobby hard to get a bicycle purchase incentive program included in the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund expenditures. We don’t expect this to be easy. We’ll need your support to get e-bike rebates into the 2020 budget. You can start by signing our e-bike rebate petition, to send a message to legislators that e-bikes deserve rebates, too.

The rest of the budget is critical, too. Transportation gets $18B including almost $9B for the California Department of Transportation. There is also $220M in funding for the Active Transportation Program (ATP). The ATP is the state’s only pot of funds dedicated to biking and walking. The ATP funding level is about the same as last year.

The next step is for the legislature to hold hearings on the budget before passing a budget bill. State agencies and departments will submit recommendations for adjustments to the Department of Finance. Newsom will consider these recommendations along with the latest data from the Department of Finance and produce a revised budget in May. The legislature must approve a budget for the governor’s signature by midnight on June 15.

During the budget process, CalBike will advocate for maximum public engagement and a minimum expansion of road capacity. California’s priorities must be to maintain what we have, make the streets safer, and, above all, reduce vehicle miles traveled.

Assembly Transportation Committee Supports E-bikes for Mobility Option

July 3, 2019/by Kevin Claxton

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 Moves Bike-Friendly Bills Forward in Sacramento

May 14, 2019/by Laura McCamy

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.

E-Bike Vouchers Advance in the Senate

April 26, 2019/by Laura McCamy

California residents are one step closer to being able to trade in their old polluting car for a brand new electric bicycle, thanks to the advancement of SB 400 in the California Senate.

The E-Bikes for Mobility Bill, SB 400 (Umberg), expands the definition of ‘mobility options’ in the Clean Vehicles for All program which provides vouchers to low income residents who trade in inefficient cars. The vouchers, issued by a number of regional Air Districts across the state, are good for electric, hybrid, and plug-in cars and “mobility options” like car-sharing memberships or transit passes. The new definition of mobility options will include bike sharing and electric bicycle purchases.

Assistant Director of UC Institute of Transportation Studies Laura Podolsky gave expert testimony at Tuesday’s hearing to the power of e-bikes to get people to switch from car to bike travel. A recent UC Davis policy brief reported on the effectiveness of European e-bike purchase incentive programs. 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.

This bill, authored by Senator Tom Umberg (D-Santa Ana), has passed the Environmental Quality Committee and was just voted out of the Transportation Committee on a unanimous vote. This amendment to the Health and Safety code still has several steps to go before it becomes law, but given the early enthusiasm and support, we are optimistic about its chances in this legislative session.