Atlanta will subsidize steep discounts on electric bicycles for city residents as part of a new program designed to cut down on traffic congestion and greenhouse gas emissions.
City Council voted on Monday to put $1 million into the program, which by this spring should allow Atlantans over 18 to walk into a partnering bike shop and get up to $2,000 off as an instant rebate.
“Once this first wave of dollars goes and I think we see how many folks are interested ... I’m looking forward to refilling this bucket with more money to make this opportunity available to more residents,” said Council Member Matt Westmoreland, who helped spearhead the initiative over a year ago.
He also said the city was making progress on its backlog of unbuilt bike lanes and other safety infrastructure.
Atlanta joins cities such as Denver and Boston that have launched their own e-bike rebate programs. Atlanta’s program is being administered by the Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC) and Propel ATL, a transit advocacy group, using local taxpayer dollars donated by the city.
Three-quarters of the rebate funds are reserved for those earning at or below 80% of the region’s median household income, currently about $54,000 a year for one person or $77,000 for a four-person family. Income-qualified residents are eligible for a $1,500 instant rebate on a standard e-bike and $2,000 for a cargo e-bike.
Residents who do not qualify for the larger discount based on income can still get $500 for a standard e-bike and $1,000 for a cargo e-bike.
Bennett Foster, who works on mobility at ARC, said data from other cities’ programs look promising for achieving Atlanta’s goals.
He said in Denver, the income-qualified residents who got the full rebate because they made less money used their bikes 50% more than other recipients. He also said the program has been shown to bring down the number of short-distance trips that are normally made by car.
“This is missing middle transportation and it’s really great that we’re going to be able to bring this to the city of Atlanta,” Foster said.
ARC will post the final list of participating retailers on its website: atlantaregional.org/ebikerebate. The agency estimates the program should fund the purchase of 800 to 1,000 e-bikes.
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