If traffic in Atlanta seems a little bit lighter these days—okay fine, it doesn’t. But if it did, we might all have e-bikes to thank. 

Back in June, Atlanta became the first city in Georgia—and just the third in the Southeast, alongside Tampa and Raleigh—to offer an e-bike rebate program. The goal was to help ease a shift from car-dependent travel for Atlantans, cut back on transportation costs, and make e-bike ownership more affordable for a broader swath of society. 

Rebates were funded by a $1 million commitment from Atlanta City Council and administered by the Atlanta Regional Commission. Advocacy group Propel ATL led communal outreach efforts.

Eight months later, ARC officials say those e-bike rebates redeemed by a total of 579 Atlanta residents are paying dividends in numerous ways.

Rebate recipients report they’re opting for two wheels more often than four, reducing car trips to school or work by about 40 percent, according to an ARC survey. Nearly three quarters of them—74 percent—report riding their new e-bikes at least two days per week. 

Some other key findings of the Atlanta E-Bike Rebate Program 2024 Year-End Report: 

• Low and moderate-income Atlantans primarily benefited. Per ARC, 82 percent of rebate funds (that’s higher than the target 75 percent) were redeemed by income-qualified city dwellers earning 80 percent of the area median income or less. 

• The 12 participating local bike shops benefited—to the tune of $1.2 million in bike and accessory sales for shops operating in the city. 

• Roughly one-third (or 194 recipients) opted for cargo e-bikes designed to carry additional passengers and weight. 

All told, 11,065 Atlantans applied for an e-bike rebate—that’s about 2 percent of the city’s total population—and recipients were picked from nearly every neighborhood in town, according to ARC officials. 

Four of nearly 600 Atlantans to receive e-bike rebates to date. Courtesy of Atlanta Regional Commission

One rebate recipient, Southwest Atlanta resident LaMiiko Moore (pictured top left above), called her cargo e-bike a commute-altering “game-changer” that she uses to transport her daughter around, visit friends, and run errands to the grocery store and other places. 

“I still have my car, but it now seems ridiculous to drive short distances when I can just hop on my e-bike,” Moore told the ARC. “I ride four to five times a week. Being on an e-bike helps you discover things that you’ll fly by in a car. It helps you see things differently.”

Bennett Foster, ARC’s managing director of mobility services, said the rebate program exceeded expectations overall and that ARC “would be thrilled to help administer another phase… should funding become available in the future.” (Hint hint, city council). 

Qualified Atlanta residents were eligible to receive $1,500 rebates for standard e-bikes, or $2,000 for the larger cargo e-bikes. (Americans generally spend around $2,000 on their first e-bike purchase, according to eBicycles.)

By our math, the average rebate recipient in Atlanta’s inaugural program received more than $1,700. 

“The recipients truly reflect our community,” said Atlanta Mayor and ARC board chairman Andre Dickens in an announcement. “They include students looking for cost-effective rides to class, parents juggling kids and a job, and older adults seeking recreation and community.”

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