E-bike incentive programs across North America are offering more generous incentives, trending toward point-of-sale discounts, and providing more information on their performance.
The Transportation Research and Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University, which has been tracking incentive programs since 2019, released a new report on shifts in North American E-bike incentive programs.
Of 118 programs, 62 programs (53 percent) are active; eight are in Canada and 54 in the U.S. There are 33 programs (four in Canada and 29 in the U.S.) that are closed or terminated (28 percent).
There has been a surge in programs offering more than $1,000, and a marked increase in programs providing more than $1,500 in incentives has occurred over the last three years. These programs have included incentives for cargo e-bikes. Typically, incentive programs support the purchase of cargo e-bikes by $200 to $500 more than for standard e-bikes.
An increasing number of programs have begun detailing the number of applicants and beneficiaries, their personal characteristics such as race, gender, and income level, as well as changes in individual travel behavior and the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions.
The complete 37-page report, “An Update of E-Bike Purchase Incentive Programs in North America,” is available here.