Columbus puts another $500,000 toward vouchers for e-bike purchases
After overwhelming demand for its 2023 electric bicycle subsidy program, Columbus City Council on Monday voted to allocate $500,000 for purchase vouchers to be used by qualifying city residents wanting new e-bikes from dealers located within the city limits.
After Council approved two $250,000 grants to Smart Columbus, in late 2022 and October 2023, to provide purchase vouchers, it doubled down Monday with a $500,000 grant for the latest round.
"It's a point-of-sale discount on an E-bike at a qualifying retailer," said Hailey Allison, who coordinates the e-bike program for Smart Columbus "Residents are required to apply for the program, and then are provided incentives based on income. So they range from $500 up to $2,500, depending on income and also the type of the bike.
Columbus City Council on Monday approved spending another $500,000 to help subsidize the purchase of electric bikes like these ones on display in front of a Powell bicycle shop — only eligible Columbus residents must use their e-bike vouchers at Columbus bike shops. Jim Fischer/ThisWeek
"From there, they're able to go to a qualifying retailer who will lead them through the purchase."
Previous city funding has led to the purchase of 289 e-bikes, bicycles with an integrated battery and a small electric motor to assist the rider in pedaling, allowing them to travel faster — up to 20 mph. Various models range in price from hundreds of dollars to several thousand dollars and up, and can travel just under 30 miles on a charge. The city program requires that the minimum sale price be $999.
Smart Columbus, an initiative of the city and the Columbus Partnership that aims to lessening gas-powered vehicle use in favor of public transportation and electric vehicles, anticipates the latest funding will help facilitate up to 350 more e-bike purchases.
"I was looking for cheap alternatives for like transportation and whatnot," Marcus Coachman, 29, a Columbus bartender, told the Council, when he said he ran across an online news article on the program.
"When I clicked on it I thought it was like a fake, right? I'm like there's no way they're giving away money to get an e-bike," Coachman said. "...And it was real. So I applied literally as soon as the page opened."
Coachman said the e-bike he purchased would have been too expensive without the voucher. He said he still owns a car that is in need of repair, so he uses the e-bike for almost all his transportation.
"Ride it to work, ride it to the gym, ride it to the grocery store, like pretty much anything you can think of within a 10-mile radius," Coachman said. Using the e-bike in the winter "is hard, but it's possible," and requires additional protective clothing, he said.
City officials said they subsidize the e-bike mode of transportation because they are low-cost, energy-efficient and climate-friendly, and can save the owner thousands of dollars in fuel and maintenance costs over a car. When the program came online in 2023, over 1,300 people applied for vouchers within the first 24 hours, and nearly 70% of vouchers were redeemed, they say. The original program provided subsidies of up to $1,200, as well as $200 for safety gear.
Qualifications to obtain a voucher include being a Columbus resident, 18 years of age or older, with an annual household income of less than $150,000. For more information, go to columbusebikes.com.
In other business Monday, City Council extended its contract with ParkMobile LLC to run the city's street-parking mobile payment application. The Council approved another $1.2 million toward the program, up 50% from the $800,000 allocated last year. The new contract will be in effect through March 2025.
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Source: Bill Bush, The Columbus Dispatch