California’s long-delayed $2,000 e-bike rebates are finally here

California has been attempting for years to roll out an incentive program for electric bicycles, with the project continuously delayed due to funding and mismanagement issues. Now we’ve finally received word that the long-awaited program is set to begin before the end of the year.

Electric bicycle rebates and vouchers have proven to be a powerful tool to help people replace cars or simply establish transportation independence. There are many states as well as countless cities in the US that have established their own voucher programs, usually to overwhelming success. 

The idea goes that more people would avoid car usage (and all of the many downsides that come with it), if they could afford a more efficient alternative like an electric bike. For many others who currently lack any form of transportation, an e-bike can be a lifeline for mobility.

Now Californians across the Golden State could finally get that opportunity as well, or at least a chance for that opportunity. The California Air Resources Board has announced that its e-bike incentive program will kick off on December 18 – just two weeks from now.

There will be multiple windows of incentives in the program, with the first drawing upon US $3 million in funding, or enough to cover around 1,500 e-bike vouchers. The program will be limited to income-eligible residents of the state, with a sliding scale based on 3x the federal poverty line and the number of household residents. For a single person, that’s an income of around US $45,000 per year. For a family of four, it’s a household income of around $93,000 per year. Priority applicants are considered those with household incomes under 2.25x the federal poverty line.

CARB has said that applications will open at 6 PM on December 18th, and as Streetsblog pointed out, it could be a matter of minutes before all of the available vouchers are snatched up. We’ve seen the same thing happen in other cities, such as Denver where each round of new vouchers can be exhausted in around one minute. 

The base voucher is set at US $1,750, with an additional $250 provided to priority applicants at under 2.25x the federal poverty line, with the maximum voucher being $2,000. The voucher can be used to purchase an eligible electric bike, as well as accessories such as a helmet, bike lock, racks, baskets, fenders, lights, mirrors, and protective clothing.

Bike elgibility is slightly restrictive, requiring more than just that the e-bike fits into the three-class e-bike system used by California as well as most US states. To be eligible for purchase using the CARB program’s incentive, the bikes must also have a lighting system that runs off of the e-bike’s main battery, be tested for compliance with safety certification ANSI/CAN/UL-2849 or EN-15194, offer at least a 1-year warranty, and be delivered fully-assembled.

While the requirement for being delivered fully-assembled would seem to rule out almost all direct-to-consumer e-bikes ordered online, like those from major retailers like Rad Power Bikes, Aventon, Velotric, and others, all of those bikes as well as similar models appear on a list of eligible e-bike models. Thus, it appears CARB is somewhat flexible about what it means to be delivered fully-assembled, and allows for bikes that arrive with the rider needing to install components like wheels, handlebars, pedals, seats, racks, and fenders.