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Boston to offer rebates to spur e-bike use among people who might not otherwise be able to afford them
By adamg on Mon, 08/05/2024 - 4:12pm
Mayor Wu announced today the city will offer vouchers, ranging in value from $800 to $2,400, to help lower-income residents, seniors and people with disabilities afford a battery-powered bicycle.
The city estimates it will give out a total of 1,000 vouchers, through a $1.5-million program funded by federal Covid relief funds.
To qualify for the Boston E-Bikes Incentive Program, a person must be a Boston resident over 18 years old who fits at least one of the criteria: income-eligible adult (at or below 40% AMI), a senior over 60 years of age, or an adult with a chronic or permanent disability. Qualified applicants will be randomly selected to receive a voucher that can be used within 90 days in person at one of the participating bike shops.
E-bikes eligible for the program discount have a safety-certified rechargeable battery and a pedal assist that provides a more effortless riding experience. They can give access to biking for people with mobility challenges, or residents who need to travel long distances or up hilly terrain. Cargo e-bikes, which can also be purchased through the program, have additional storage and passenger-carrying capacity. In addition to traditional e-bikes, the program will provide support toward the purchase of powered handcycle wheelchair attachments and adaptive e-bikes that can be modified to meet the needs of individuals with chronic disabilities.
The vouchers will also come with a $150 credit toward the purchase of bike-safety equipment,
In a statement, Wu said the program will help people in vulnerable groups more easily get around the city - and help reduce overall carbon emissions.
Applications for e-bike rebates will be available and have to be filed between Aug. 12 and Aug. 24, at boston.gov/ebikes. Applications for powered handcycle wheelchair attachments are available now through Sept. 5 at that address. The city will then use a lottery to select voucher recipients. A second voucher lottery will be held in the spring.
The city will host e-bike fairs at City Hall and in Mattapan to show off available e-bikes.
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Comments
I thought Wu was trying to raise tax rates
Because we have an anticipated budget shortfall. While small, why are we adding new line items to a budget that we cant already afford.
Two separate pools of money
The ARPA money from the feds can only be spent on specific capital-ish things, and has to be spent by a certain date or it goes away.
The city's main source of funding for day-to-day operations, by far, is property taxes, which could be affected by continuing downtown office vacancies as property owners ask for - and get, decreases in their assessed values, which determines in part how much they have to pay in taxes.
I’m as big of a cycling
I’m as big of a cycling advocate as anyone (though McGrory’s column re Boylston Street today was awful), but aside about the part about folks w/disabilities, this is a complete boondoggle.
Ummm....instead of
Ummm....instead of subsidizing 1,000 people with one-time purchases, why not give 2,500 city residents $600 vouchers/codes that can be used on e-bikes for years on Blue Bikes? This way the funds both help those use ebikes, while also ensuring the funds help further build-out the Blue Bike program? Seems like a real missed opportunity...
BlueBikes
Are already heavily subsidized. And if you are on MassHealth or some other assistance program you qualify for like rides that cost a buck with a free membership.
Or at least this is how it was a few years ago.
Yeah you could argue that it would make rides free but still.
With this consumers get a rebate on their choice of an eBike maker. And its theirs to keep.
And you actually make it the
And you actually make it the last mile not just to the nearest Bluebike rental rack. Why not both though?
Is it going to be like with
Is it going to be like with handicapped placards? Are electric scooters eligible?
Who's brother in law owns an ebike company?
COVID funds for e bike vouchers?
Who cares?
What the voters want to know is how much is this costing the tax paying homeowners?
Absolutely nothing
See the answer above.
Making this available to
Making this available to anybody over 60 without income or disability qualification seems kind of sus.
people above 60 are very
people above 60 are very dependent on cars
Do you think people over 60
Do you think people over 60 with a net worth above $10 million should be eligible for these vouchers? The affordability of e-bikes wouldn’t seem to be a significant factor in how they get around.
Means testing bureaucracy
Do you really think people over 60 with a net worth above $10 million are going to spend their time trying to score a discount on an e-bike? If they want one they will already have the most expensive model.
I think turning the application process into a tax return will just prevent a lot of people who need a voucher from even trying to get one.
I don't care
Stop it with the Hillary imitation. I'd rather these fictitious random and rare millionaires not be clogging the roads with heavily subsidized cars.
You think you are fighting some sort of class war, but do the math, silly.
Either that or "nice try derailing the greater good with nonsense rhetoric about a nonissue".
At or below 40% AMI feels too
At or below 40% AMI feels too strict. Ebikes are really expensive.
Regular bikes?
My only complaint is that the city should also include vouchers for regular bikes.
A standard bike is cheaper, more dependable, easier to repair, and easier to move indoors for storage.
I would expect that most people who cannot afford an e-bike on their own will often lack a secure and easily accessible storage space for it. I can carry either my commuter or my mountain bike up multiple flights of winding stairs to my apartment. I wouldn't want to try wrestling a heavier and more awkward e-bike through there.
(Also, before anyone suggests locking an e-bike outside overnight, DON'T. Someone will spot it, return with whatever they need to defeat your lock, and steal your new ride.)
Exactly! Safe accessible bike storage is for many people, …
… as big a problem as the high cost of an ebike.
That was my first thought when reading this article. Without a practical place to keep an ebike, there is no point in having one.
I like this program but it needs to go further in helping seniors, the low income and the disabled to get bike storage too. And not just for ebikes. For regular bikes as well.