Come Sunday, Atlanta will officially become the first city in Georgia to offer an e-bike rebate program—and just the third in the Southeast, alongside Tampa and Raleigh.

The Atlanta City Council in January approved a $1 million investment to establish the city’s e-bike rebates as a means of providing more affordable transportation options to residents with incomes considered moderate and low. Another goal is to thin out traffic congestion and improve air quality in the city.  

That million bucks will be administered by the Atlanta Regional Commission, starting with a kickoff event at 3 p.m. Sunday during the second Atlanta Streets Alive of 2024. The event returns to its 2.8-mile route between 1 and 5 p.m. Sunday, stretching along Peachtree Street from south of Underground Atlanta to near the High Museum in Midtown. 

According to ARC officials, income-qualified Atlanta residents will be eligible to receive $1,500 rebates for standard e-bikes, or $2,000 for larger cargo e-bikes with additional room for passengers, groceries, or other loads. (People generally spend around $2,000 on their first e-bike purchase, according to eBicycles, though cheaper and much more expensive models are out there.)

The majority of rebates—75 percent—will be reserved for residents earning at or below 80 percent of metro Atlanta’s median household income. That income limit will vary, based on the size of households, but it starts at $60,200 for individuals.

Josh Green/Urbanize Atlanta

The deal goes that rebate amounts will be deducted from total prices of bikes once rebate holders purchase them. Important note: The rebates are capped at one per City of Atlanta resident—and all e-bikes must be bought from a participating, brick-and-mortar local bike shop. (There’s a dozen of them to choose from.)

Fear not, Atlantans who don’t meet income qualifications—you won’t be left out. Rebates of $500 (standard e-bikes) and $1,000 (cargo) will be available in those cases.  

ARC and city officials expect that 700 e-bikes will be bought through the inaugural rebate program.

E-bike rebate applications must be submitted by June 23 (that’s a week from Sunday) via ARC’s website. According to program officials, a randomized lottery will held soon to select rebate recipients.

According to ARC stats, the average metro Atlantan spends $11,000 annually on vehicle fuel, maintenance, and other expenses, while less than $15 in electricity costs will power an e-bike for a year.  

When it comes to cleaner air, ARC officials point west to Denver, where a $3-million e-bike rebate initiative has put 7,600 e-bicycles on the road. That’s reduced weekly vehicle miles traveled in the Colorado city by 165,000—and kept roughly 3,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions from the air annually, per the ARC.

“E-bikes offer a meaningful solution to many of our city’s transportation challenges, particularly for people who are burdened by the high cost of owning a car,” Rebecca Serna, Propel ATL executive director, said in a prepared statement. “E-bikes increase access to transit by making it easier and faster to reach a train station or bus stop. And a cargo e-bike can be used to haul kids safely to school or run errands, making it possible for a family to own just one car.”

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IF YOU GO:

What: ARC/City of Atlanta E-Bike Rebate Program Launch

When: 3 p.m. Sunday, at second Atlanta Streets Alive of 2024

Where: Staging area across from St. Luke’s Episcopal Church (435 Peachtree St.)

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