DENVER — The city of Denver has paused its e-bike rebate program for the rest of 2022 because it has exhausted its funding for the program because of what the city calls “overwhelming demand.”
There had been two more dates — Nov. 7 and Dec. 5 — on which the rebate application window was to open, but now the program will not relaunch until sometime early next year, according to Winna MacLaren, a spokesperson for the Denver Office of Climate Action, Sustainability and Resiliency.
MacLaren said the office is adding more funding to the rebate contract to get the program up and running again and said it was making changes to the program to make it easier for Denver residents to participate.
“We’re honored to be a part of transforming the way Denver wants to move around,” said Denver Chief Climate Officer Grace Rink. “we exhausted three years’ worth of funding in six short months, and we’re eager to bring back an expanded program that will serve more Denverites.”
The rebates have been in high demand since the program launched this summer, offering hundreds of rebates to Denver residents once a month. Typically, the rebates have been taken within a matter of minutes.
During the Oct. 3 window, the city offered 400 voucher applications and reached capacity “in a matter of minutes,” as the city said.
The city says the program, which allows Denver residents to save between $400 and $1,200 to buy an e-bike and up to $1,700 for a cargo e-bike at bicycle shops that are participating in the program. About half of the rebates are reserved for income-qualified residents.
The city said the program has already put 4,400 e-bikes onto Denver streets and have provided 2,185 of the rebates to income-qualified residents — about half of those issued.
People who get the rebate vouchers have 60 days to use the at participating bike shops. After the September window closed, the city said about 47% of the vouchers were redeemed. After 60 days, the vouchers go back into the pool for the next window.
The city said the program has invested $8.6 million into the local economy.
Denverites can sign up for notifications from the program for the latest updates. There are also rebates available, as part of the city’s Climate Action Rebate Program, for people to get solar panels, electrical upgrades, and heat pumps as well.