Washington will unlock millions of dollars for people looking to buy — or borrow — electric bikes through a statewide program set into the state's transportation budget.
Vouchers worth up to $1,200 for e-bike buyers will be available next year, and a series of lending libraries across the state will follow, said Barb Chamberlain of the Washington Department of Transportation. A more specific timeline isn't yet available because state officials are still developing the programs.
The initiatives are part of a $2 billion spending package lawmakers enacted in April to cut Washington's greenhouse gas emissions. While spending is increasing, so are revenues. In less than a year, the state's carbon-pricing program has collected nearly $1 billion from major climate polluters.
The idea for the rebates and lending libraries is to shift people away from cars burning fossil fuels and onto cleaner modes of transportation like electric bikes, which carry battery-powered motors to help riders while they pedal, said Democratic state Sen. Sharon Shewmake.
Washington's transportation sector is the single largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in the state, accounting for 39% of emissions in 2019, the state's Department of Ecology reported last year.
Shewmake said she proposed the rebate and lending programs for Washington's transportation budget because e-bikes are an effective way to reduce congestion on the state's streets and reduce greenhouse gas emissions at the same time.
"They're not just expensive toys," Shewmake said.
Gov. Jay Inslee signed the state's 2023-2025 transportation budget into law in May. WSDOT officials began building the rebate program in July when the money became available.
In all, the budget set aside $5 million for two years worth of rebates, said Chamberlain, director of WSDOT's Active Transportation Division. Sixty percent of those rebates, worth up to $1,200, will be reserved for low-income households. Others could see up to $300. The vouchers could be applied to most e-bikes (except electric mountain bikes) and equipment like helmets and locks. Used e-bikes won't qualify for the rebates, Shewmake said.
As many as 2,300 low-income vouchers and about 6,200 of the smaller vouchers could be available.
Chamberlain said her department is still developing its application process, finding ways to verify addresses and income levels. They're also speaking to other cities and states with similar programs to learn from them.
One of those cities is Denver, which has such a popular rebate program that city officials now release vouchers in smaller, monthly batches to try and stretch supply. Even so, Emily Gedeon, a spokeswoman for Denver's Office of Climate Action, Sustainability and Resiliency, said whatever vouchers become available are snapped up within five minutes.
Officials in Washington are working to ensure that vouchers here are handed out equitably, Chamberlain said.
"If you're working three jobs you should not miss out on your opportunity to get a voucher," she said.
E-bike sales are on the rise across the world, outpacing electric vehicle sales at times. Four other states are working on rebate programs similar to Washington's.
Seattle, which does not have its own rebate program, is seeing continued popularity with e-bikes through ride-sharing companies like Bird and Lime. So far this month, Seattle has seen an average of 5,266 daily e-bike rides through all the available ride-sharing companies, city data shows.
Not only is Denver's program popular, it's also successful, Gedeon said. In less than two years the city has handed out 6,596 vouchers. The average redeemer reports riding their e-bike instead of driving their car for about 3.4 trips each week, totaling 21.6 fewer miles driven per person.
That translates to a reduction of more than 142,000 vehicle miles in Denver each week, Gedeon said. To date, city officials estimate their e-bike rebate program has displaced more than 2,600 tons of greenhouse gas emissions.
Shewmake said she wants to recreate that type of success in Washington. But she also acknowledged that e-bikes can be expensive. REI lists some online for . So, the lawmaker said a series of lending libraries should entice people to give them a try.
Money to begin establishing the libraries won't become available for her department until next summer, Chamberlain said, so those programs will lag behind the rebates.
State departments, local governments and tribal nations will be eligible to apply for e-bike loaning grants to help reduce commuting trips, Chamberlain said.
Tribes and other nonprofits serving low-income or overburdened communities will also be eligible for grants.
The funding package also set aside money to study the success of the rebate and lending libraries, Shewmake said. That documentation might create additional political will to earmark even more money for the programs moving forward.
