This summer, City of Boulder residents will be able to apply for a voucher providing a $300 discount for a standard e-bike, or a $500 discount for a cargo e-bike, city officials told the Transportation Advisory Board last week.
Residents who earn up to 80% the area median income — about $63,000 for an individual in 2022 — will be eligible for additional discounts. These include $1,200 for a standard e-bike and $1,400 for a cargo e-bike. The discount can be used for class 1 and class 2 e-bikes, which typically max out at 20 miles per hour. The first application period will include 200 vouchers.
The city plans to administer the vouchers through a lottery. It plans to open an application period in July and September 2023, before randomly selecting applicants. The vouchers will be able to be used at a Boulder County bike shop for a point-of-sale discount. The shops would then be reimbursed by the city.
Separately, earlier this year, Gov. Jared Polis signed into law a bill that provides credits and discounts on electric cars, bikes and heat pumps. The bill was backed by state Rep. Junie Joseph and Senate President Steve Fenberg.
Under the law, starting on April 1, 2024, people who want to buy an electric bike may be eligible for a $450 discount at the time of purchase. In the first year, the bike shops will have to front the discount and get it back when they file their taxes. (Some shops are not thrilled about this, according to Community Cycles, a Boulder-based cycling advocacy organization. “Small shops especially ebike only [shops] will really suffer,” Sue Prant, executive director of Community Cycles wrote in a Tweet. “The Boulder shops are pissed & afraid.”)
If you’re interested in buying an electric car, heat pump or electric lawn equipment, CPR has a guide on various state tax credits and rebates for you.
Boulder has excellent bicycle infrastructure. Great for a workout with minimal interaction with car traffic. However, the progressive dream of a bicycle-centric transportation system is being thwarted by our government’s softness on crime and homelessness. The sad truth is that you cannot leave an expensive bicycle (either an e-bike or a regular one) locked up outside in Boulder for more than 5 minutes. In fact, as documented on Nextdoor, many electric bicycles have recently been stolen out of people’s garages. So at this point, the best way to get more people on bikes for their basic transportation needs is not to offer vouchers, but to solve Boulder’s bike theft problem.