Lawmakers in Washington have put forward a new bill that will make leaving the car at home and riding an e-bike more affordable.
According to the proposed bill, which is officially called, “The Electric Bicycle Incentive Kickstarting the Environment (E-BIKE) Act of 2023,” Washington DC residents who earn incomes at or above 80% of the city’s median family income would be eligible for a rebate of up to $400, capped at 30% of the electric bicycle’s price.
If you’re doing the math at home, that means any e-bike priced at or above $1333 would be eligible – as that’s about the price of the least expensive e-bikes you can buy that are worth buying at all, you can just think of this as, “a $400 rebate.”
The bill was introduced by Ward Two Council member Brooke Pinto, and would partially reimburse D.C. residents that buy an E-bike from a retailer physically located in D.C. That means it would allow local bike shops to remain competitive against online-only, D2C brands, too!
“We really wanted to make sure that access to electronic bikes were more accessible, were more cost effective and that we are really targeting the highest rebates for our lowest income residents,” Pinto told WTOP. “People can use them of all varying abilities and different ages … bikes are a great way to get around that are also more environmentally friendly and have less emissions.”
The bill would allow for 3,000 rebates per year in the District. Pinto told WTOP that lawmakers hope to have the bill passed, funded, and operationl by the end of 2023.
SOURCE | IMAGES: WTOP NEWS.
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