e-bike

On Wednesday, the city of Bend accepted a new $150,000 e-mobility grant funded by Pacific Power that will provide electric bikes to low-income households in Bend.

The funding for the new e-bike program comes from $800,000 in grants Pacific Power awarded across Oregon to increase electric vehicle use and improve infrastructure. The money comes from carbon credits purchased by gas companies. The grant funding was made possible by the Oregon Clean Fuels Program administered by the state Department of Environmental Quality, the city of Bend said in a release Wednesday.

The program includes an instant rebate providing $2,000 toward a new e-bike for 75 low-income households in Bend. In partnership with Commute Options, local e-bike retailers will receive the rebate directly, automatically deducting $2,000 from the price of the e-bike at the store.

The e-bike rebates will be awarded to qualifying applicants based on a lottery process, which will take place in the spring, the city said in its release.

The e-bike incentive is a common one across the country, and in Bend, e-bikes could emerge as a viable mode of transportation, reducing both fuel costs and carbon footprint said Casey Bergh, the transportation program manager at OSU-Cascades. Bergh said e-bike incentives like the one approved in Bend are part of a larger increase in electric vehicle usage as infrastructure like charging stations become more common, and more consumers choose electric.

“What I have seen is a lot of people are referring to 2022 as kind of a tipping point for electric vehicle use, meaning that we are only going to see that number significantly increase from here on out, where it has been fairly slow growth up until now,” Bergh said. “We’ve got the infrastructure today where this is a viable option, I think that is … what is also probably tipping the scales toward more EV (electric vehicle) purchases in 2022.”

Bergh said the new e-bike incentive is a good start locally toward addressing some of the goals outlined in the city’s Community Climate Action Plan, which he helped develop.

“The city now has a formal climate action plan, and one of those actions is looking at how we address the fossil fuel consumption associated with transportation,” Bergh said. “This incentive is going to serve a very small number of people in our community, but as those people start utilizing an e-bike for daily transportation, hopefully, other people see that it is a good option.”

Bergh said the appeal of electric vehicles comes from their cost effectiveness and sustainability, and e-bikes in particular could catch on with Bend’s bike friendly culture as most people’s commutes to work are relatively short, making e-bikes a viable way to get around.

Ariel Mendez, a longtime cycling advocate and councilor-elect on the Bend City Council, said the $2,000 e-bike voucher will go a long way for Bend residents living below the poverty line, making under $28,000 for a family of four. It will also improve transportation in Bend in general, he said.

Mendez, who frequently rides his own e-bike around town, said getting more bikes and fewer cars on the street is a simple way to plan for the future.

“I see this as low hanging fruit, when we look ahead and we look at how much growth is expected to come to Bend, we really can’t accommodate 50% more cars, so this is an important step towards helping people get around without driving.”

Mendez pointed out that half of all trips in Bend are in the less than two or three mile range, which can be biked in 10 or 15 minutes.

“Most of my bike trips are in the 10 to 20 minute range, and I will bike year round as long as I have a good route, because it’s great. You don’t have to worry about parking, you get where you are going reliably. Everybody that tries them realizes that this is one of the biggest secrets that is still getting out,” Mendez said. “I hope we can find a way to expand the program so that more households can directly benefit from it. In the meantime, this is a great program with indirect benefits for the entire community.”