Alexandria could lead Virginia into statewide e-bike incentives
Sarah Bagley with her e-bike. Used with permission.
A version of this article originally appeared on the Virginia Mercury.
When Denver released its latest round of 860 e-bike vouchers, the Colorado city’s program to help residents get out of single occupancy vehicles and onto two wheels ran out within 20 minutes. Two previous rounds with half as many vouchers were over within 10 minutes. The ease, affordability and excitement of riding an e-bike compared with other modes of transportation has unleashed a tsunami of similar state and local level incentives across America.
With the release of a report by Alexandria city officials last month indicating the city’s intent to launch its own e-bike rebate program this coming summer, the wave of e-bike incentives may finally be reaching Virginia. If a statewide e-bike voucher bill from Del. Josh Thomas, D-Gainesville, survives the upcoming General Assembly session, the two-wheeled revolution may sweep across the entire commonwealth.
E-bike boom
Thanks to the Clean Car Standards and President Joe Biden’s urging US automakers to ditch fossil fuels, electric cars have largely come to be seen as America’s main solution to the climate crisis – and they’ve also become political footballs. The electric vehicle making the biggest impact on people’s mobility and the environment, however, is the humble e-bike.
The world’s 280 million e-bikes (compared to just 20 million electric cars) are cutting global oil demand by about one million barrels a day — four times more than electric cars are displacing. As smaller, lighter vehicles than cars, the production of e-bikes also consumes far fewer resources and produces much less carbon. The same amount of raw materials that go into an EV Hummer, which President Biden has promoted, could produce 400 e-bike batteries.
Environmental benefits, however, likely aren’t the reason e-bike sales outpaced electric car purchases nationwide last year by roughly 300,000 units. E-bikes’ main draw is their power as a fun and affordable alternative to driving.
“For people who aren’t informed about the e-bike revolution going on, they might not see how important this is,” said Jim Durham, advocacy director for the Virginia Bicycling Federation. “The vast majority of people with e-bikes are replacing car trips with bike trips, indicating that they are overwhelmingly being used for transportation. Cargo bikes significantly expand the number of trips you can take on a bike such as grocery shopping or school runs.”
Over half of all trips Americans take are under three miles; 28% are less than one mile. That means with the right infrastructure and easy access to e-bikes, most trips in the United States could be shifted away from deadly, polluting and space-consuming single-occupancy vehicles and onto two wheels.
Alexandria’s aims
Many Americans come to realize the power of e-bikes when an injury or age restricts their ability to get around via a car or regular bicycle. Nerve damage in Alexandria Councilwoman Sarah Bagley’s arm this summer left her mobility limited until a friend suggested she try an e-bike.
“My e-bike let me get back to moving faster because it takes the stress off of my body,” she said. “I wasn’t a believer before I had my own, but this has really reaffirmed my belief that e-bikes are a game changer for shorter trips like running errands, and they open up opportunities for people of an advanced age or with disabilities to get around their community.”
Yes to 👇. My new e-bike enabled me to meet a friend off Seminary to go for a run yesterday. Ride home was the perfect cool down. No VMT! Thanks #REI Bike Sale! #alexandriava #ebike #seminaryroad #itsnotcheating https://t.co/LIEasJa7lp pic.twitter.com/rcnOaC4GOR
Bagley bought her e-bike during a 40% off flash sale that lowered the sticker price from its original one, over $1,000. This put her e-bike in a range she could afford, similar to how rebates across the country are doing for other e-bike buyers. After just two months of riding she asked city staff to explore an e-bike incentive program to spread her joy to her fellow Alexandrians.
Their report, released just a few weeks ago, detailed how grant funding and money developers pay into the city’s transportation management plan could potentially cover the cost of e-bike rebates as early as this coming summer. A tiered rebate program similar to Denver’s, which offers more assistance to low-income residents, is the preferred path forward, but for those who live in homes without safe and secure bike storage, the report suggests subsidized Capital Bikeshare memberships.
“There is a need for state level funding, but what I was hoping to do by piloting things locally is to get e-bikes into the hands of interested residents whose mobility is challenged by economics and infrastructure right now,” said Bagley. “If we can get people transportation and demonstrate to state legislators that there is a need for this, then this is a win-win.”
Bills, budgets and e-bikes
Since Virginia’s e-bike bill is currently being drafted by the General Assembly’s Division of Legislative Services, no one yet knows exactly what the legislation carried by Del. Thomas will entail. The bill could lay out a statewide rebate, propose a pilot program or simply study how best the commonwealth could implement e-bike incentives. Lawmakers, agency experts and advocates have plenty of questions to answer before a potential rebate rollout.
“I don’t think Virginia’s network of bicycle shops is as well set up as the car dealerships to handle rebates,” said Durham, referencing the electric car rebate program passed and left unfunded by state lawmakers three years ago. “A state agency would likely have to set up the bureaucratic operation to take applications, assign voucher numbers and then reimburse the bike shops.”
A recent PlanRVA analysis of e-bike incentives across the nation found 112 such programs, offering policymakers in Virginia plenty of opportunities to learn from their experience and implement best practices. One group offering an abundance of advice on how to structure incentives to accelerate the e-bike revolution is People for Bikes, a national advocacy group that promotes safer and more inclusive cycling.
“Generally we say $300 to $400 is the minimum amount to encourage people to get a higher quality long-term car replacement,” said Ash Lovell, People for Bikes’ electric bike policy and campaign director. “But the amount can go up from there — many incentives give folks more for cargo bikes and offer additional assistance to low-income people.”
Lovell also advises vouchers over rebates because a discount at the point of purchase is much less intimidating for customers than having to put all the money for an e-bike up front and then wait for a refund, especially for low-income customers. Policymakers shouldn’t limit access to e-bike purchasing assistance to individuals, either, Lovell believes.
“Denver also allows businesses and nonprofits to apply for vouchers so they can build up fleets of e-bikes for their employees or those they serve in a job center or homeless shelter, for example,” Lovell said.
No matter what form the proposed e-bike incentive programs in Alexandria and the General Assembly take, with 38 million Americans having ridden an e-bike this year, Durham is confident that the calls for such programs will only increase with time.
“I’m optimistic about our chances for getting an e-bike bill through the General Assembly in 2024, but this is the first year we have proposed this so there is an educational hurdle and it may be a challenge,” he said. “But this is the right thing for Virginia even if it takes a couple of years to pass it.”