How E-Bike Rebates Will Make Cycling Safer
Denver’s wildly successful incentive program isn’t just helping residents buy greener rides — it’s building an army of bike lane advocates.
Denver’s rebate program offering vouchers for new e-bikes is making this an increasingly common scene in the city.
Photographer: RJ Sangosti/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post via Getty Images
So much for Mile High City. Denver residents are embracing a new moniker: E-bike City.
In April 2022, the city began offering residents $400 off a new electric bike or $900 off an e-cargo bike, with low-income residents eligible for an additional $800 discount. The program was a sensation: Over 4,700 Denverites snapped up a voucher in 2022, forcing overwhelmed city staff to pause the application process. The rebates’ value dropped in 2023, but the city’s newest batch of 860 vouchers, distributed in January, were still snapped up in about 20 minutes.