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E-bike sales have exploded in the U.S. Here’s how to help finance your new Earth-friendly joyride with e-bike rebate programs.
Many cities and states are incentivizing the purchase of e-bikes with rebate programs. The reasoning is clear: E-bikes have a smaller carbon footprint than any other vehicle, even traditional bicycles.
Research has shown e-bikes emit about 9.2 grams of CO2 equivalent per mile traveled, compared to the whopping 400 grams of C02 equivalent per mile emitted by the average passenger car, according to estimates from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
That makes e-bike rebate programs, which often offer $500 to more than $1,000 in vouchers to buyers, one of the lowest-hanging fruits when it comes to decarbonization. “The most efficient way to get from point A to point B is an electric bike, because the human body is much less efficient at converting energy into motion than an electric motor and battery,” says Jonathan Weinert, PhD, managing director of eCycleElectric, a consulting firm focused on the e-bike industry. In fact, GreenMatch, a UK-based publication focused on sustainability, estimates that e-bike emissions are 30 percent lower than those associated with traditional bikes. While some observers quibble over the percentage decrease, there is broad agreement among experts that the additional emissions associated with manufacturing and charging e-bikes are more than offset by those associated with growing and transporting the food needed by the traditional pedaler in the form of calories.
“Cities are realizing that e-bikes are viable car alternatives for short trips,” he adds. “If they can convince people to use small vehicles for small trips, it’s a very cost-effective way to get greenhouse gas reduction, reduce fuel use, improve air quality, improve health, and reduce congestion.”
Case in point: Bureau of Transportation Statistics found that 52 percent of all car trips in 2021 were for distances of fewer than three miles. The Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI), a sustainability-focused think tank, found that transferring just 25 percent of those trips to e-bikes in Los Angeles would be the equivalent of removing about 75,000 cars from the road.
An early proponent of e-bikes, the City and County of Denver has offered residents rebates of up to $1,400 for e-bike purchases since 2022, and the State of Colorado jumped in with additional rebates for low- and moderate-income residents in 2023. The two programs have subsidized the purchases of more than 13,000 e-bikes to date.
Denver “inspired a lot of other areas to do it,” says Bryn Grunwald, senior associate on RMI’s carbon-free transportation team. “Denver really did lead this big transformation and this big mind shift.”
A report that analyzed the Denver rebate program’s first year found that participants rode their e-bikes an average of 26 miles per week, replacing 3.4 vehicle trips per person, and 71 percent of participants reported using their gas vehicles less often after purchasing their e-bike. RMI calculated that the rebate program saved 0.94 pounds of CO2 equivalent per dollar spent.
When cities such as San Francisco and Atlanta followed Denver’s lead, it became clear that rebate programs are popular wherever they’re in place. “The funding often gets snapped up pretty fast,” Grunwald notes.
Cargo e-bikes can easily replace cars for trips to schools and grocery stores, Weinert says. “Small vehicles for small trips seems like a no-brainer, and If we can get more people thinking in that way and getting comfortable using small vehicles for small trips, then cities will be much better off in terms of health, congestion, and environmental protection.”
The rebate programs coincide with the largest boom in e-bike history: Imports are the best proxy for sales, and they’ve quadrupled from 430,000 in 2020 to 1.7 million in 2024. “[Rebate programs] have definitely had an impact on the growth, and I’m optimistic about the market because of them,” says Weinert.
Coast-to-Coast-to-Coast Rebates
As of early 2025, 20 states and Washington, D.C., had e-bike rebate programs. Local governments or colleges also had established rebates or other incentives in more than 10 other states, and many similar initiatives are works in progress. John MacArtur of Portland State University, who tracks e-bike incentive programs across North America, reports that there were more than 160 as of early 2025.
A free e-bike impact calculator from RMI allows users to analyze the impact in a given city or state of incentivizing e-bikes on vehicle miles traveled and greenhouse gas emissions. “The goal with the e-bike calculator was to help people conceptualize how much they’re driving, how much people drive within a city, and then what the costs are, not only the financial costs, but the environmental costs as well,” says RMI’s Grunwald. “Not only will people be getting more exercise, they will be cutting down on air pollution, and that's really valuable when you're looking at long-term health risks.”
