DENVER — Denver e-bike rebates are back, and if it's like past years, they always go fast.
The first release of vouchers will begin online at 11 a.m. Tuesday. This year, there will be five opportunities to apply for a rebate: Feb. 27, April 30, June 25, Aug. 27 and Oct. 29.
The rebates are first come first served, so you can save time by creating an account on the city's website beforehand.
The biggest change to the program this year is the expansion of rebate options from two tiers to three, according to the City and County of Denver. Now, there's a moderate income rebate of $700. The low-income rebate is $1,200, and the standard rebate remains at $300.
Any e-bike sold through the program will also be required to meet national safety standards. The batteries must be tested and certified to the UL 2849 or 2271 safety standard. Mike Salisbury, transportation energy lead for the Denver Office of Climate Action, Sustainability and Resiliency (CASR), said the goal is to make sure the batteries won't be a fire risk.
People who receive a voucher also will have a little more time to use it. Denver has extended that time period from 60 to 90 days.
Salisbury said they're seeing some impressive environmental impacts from the e-bikes program, and other cities have reached out to replicate Denver's program.
"An e-bike has about 1% of the emissions of a gasoline vehicle, so any time we get someone on a e-bike, they are definitely doing a great job of reducing emissions," Salisbury said.
Since 2022, more than 15,000 people have applied for a rebate, and around 8,000 have redeemed a voucher. Salisbury said the city estimates those e-bikes have replaced about 170,000 miles of vehicle travel per week in Denver. That translates to about 3,300 tons of green house gas emissions displaced over the year.
As the e-bikes program continues to rise in popularity, Salisbury said, they're continuing to figure out new ways to get people on two wheels.
"What are the different strategies we can pursue to get people, more bikes into people's hands?" he said. "E-bike libraries, other programs through nonprofits to get more e-bikes on the streets, like delivering pizzas, things like that. So we're really looking at ... what other types of trips can people replace with e-bikes."
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