California Air Resources Board

What Did it Fund?

Point-of-sale incentives for the purchase of electric bicycles (e-bikes), including cargo e-bikes and adaptive e-bikes.

Incentive Amounts

The e-bike incentive amounts were based on the household income of an eligible applicant. All applicants must have had a household income at or below 300% of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL) to be eligible for the project. Applicants who met the income threshold were eligible to receive up to $1,750. Applicants who had a household income at or below 225% of the FPL or lived in a disadvantaged community (DAC, Senate Bill 535) or a low-income community (LIC, Assembly Bill 1550) were eligible to receive an additional $250, for a maximum incentive of $2,000.

Who was Eligible 

Incentives were available to California residents, age 18 or older, who had an annual household income at or below 300% of FPL.

How it was Administered 

The Project was administered by Pedal Ahead and incentives were distributed to residents as incentives. Once approved, the recipients could redeem the incentives at authorized e-bike retailers. Authorized retailers applied the voucher discount to an approved e-bike at the point of sale. 

Where and When it was Offered 

The California E-Bike Incentive Project released funds through statewide application windows. Application windows occurred as funding was available and were announced through press releases and via the mailing list on the project website. Once application windows went live, potential applicants could apply through the website’s application portal.

Applicants who successfully submitted an application and met all of the eligibility requirements could redeem their voucher at any of the participating e-bike retailers throughout the state. At the point of sale, the voucher could be used to discount the purchase of an e-bike. Retailers would then submit the purchase information to the administrator to receive a check for the discount provided to the applicant.

Participation Requirements 

Applicants must have met and agreed to the terms and conditions of the project, which included:

• Must be 18 years or older
• A California resident
• Household income must be at or below 300% of FPL
  • Priority applicants must live in a disadvantaged or low-income community or have an annual household income at or below 225% FPL
• Participate in survey evaluations
• Complete e-bike safety training