Riders Are Ditching Their Cars in Denver After E-Bike Rebates Roll Out

Electric bikes are great for so many reasons. They make cycling into the office much less of a chore, they take the pain out of any uphill climbs on a weekend ride and, if you’re riding some high-spec electric road bike, they can make you feel like a fully-fledged peloton rider. But, they have a big drawback over “regular” bikes: they’re expensive.

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To try and combat the cost increase of an e-bike versus an “analog” model, Denver launched a series of rebates for anyone looking to buy an electric bike last year. The program saw the city offer up to $1,200 for anyone looking to buy an electric bike, an additional $500 was also available for anyone considering a cargo bike.

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The rebates launched last year and now, a year later, the city has released a report investigating the impact the program has had on travel habits in Denver.

The big finding was that 71 percent of respondents to a survey about e-bike ridership following the rebates reported using their gas-powered cars less than they did before they bought their bikes. What’s more, those surveyed said they rode their bikes an average of 26 miles per week, which replaced 3.4 round trips on average.