Atlanta’s e-bike program pedals through a successful first year

Atlanta is putting the pedal to the metal — bike metal, that is.

The Atlanta Regional Commission’s (ARC) e-bike rebate program, which officially launched in July 2024, released the Atlanta E-Bike Rebate Program 2024 Year-End Report earlier this week detailing the early outcomes of its program — and found that most recipients are “riding often and driving less.”

The program allowed the City of Atlanta residents to apply for a rebate in one of four tiers: Standard E-Bike ($500), Standard E-Cargo Bike ($1000), Income Qualified E-Bike ($1500) or Income Qualified E-Cargo Bike ($2000). It was funded from a $1 million investment from the City of Atlanta and was facilitated in part by local advocacy group PropelATL in partnership with the ARC.

In total, 11,065 people applied, underlining the enthusiasm behind the program. There were 739 rebates issued, with 579 residents actually redeeming their rebate from the program.

82 percent of those who received the rebate were at or below 80 percent of Metro Atlanta’s Area Median Income — higher than the 75 percent goal that the program set. According to ARC, income-qualified applicants redeemed rebates at higher rates than general participants. 

The report details that 74 percent of recipients are riding their bike at least twice a week, with some using their bike for their work or school commutes.

Bennett Foster, managing director of mobility services at the Atlanta Regional Commission, is comfortable calling the program a success.

“The whole point of the program was to provide transportation; recreation is a wonderful side effect… [for] their mental health and physical health,” Foster said. “But in terms of actually getting to and from school, work, childcare, the grocery store — it was really important to have [the bikes].

Citing a report from the League of American Bicyclists, Foster explained that half of all car trips are less than three miles long — things like a drive to the grocery store, gym, or park —  which is a length the group estimates a bike could cover in about 20 minutes. 

“We know that these e-bikes can gobble up those small, short, high-volume trips that everyone is taking each day, and we’re seeing in the survey responses that people are choosing to do that,” Foster said.

Yet while the bikes are replacing daily short commutes for some, they add a new dimension of getting around altogether for others. Of note in the report is that 33 percent of income-qualified applicants reported that they do not own or have reliable access to a car — further highlighting the role that e-bikes can play in filling in a gap for people to move about the city, especially short distances.

The program spurred the local bike economy, too, for the participating bike shops that accepted the voucher. According to the report: “Redeemed rebates led to more than $1.2 million in bike and accessory sales at the 12 participating bike shops” across the city, marking a win for both the shops and people who might not otherwise have purchased a bike anytime soon.

“I know quite a few people said they would not have purchased an e-bike without this program,” Foster said. “In addition to that, there are a few people who did not get a rebate that still went ahead and purchased an e-bike anyway, just because of the awareness factor now.”

Foster added he’s even experienced full-circle moments where he ran into people who were awarded the rebate by pure chance — like in one instance when he hired a dog sitter.

“The dog sitter rolled up on an e-bike; we got to talking, and it turns out they got the e-bike rebate,” Foster said. “The guy could not stop talking about how great it is. He said for the entire month of October, he didn’t even drive his car. He didn’t even touch it… He doesn’t want to battle traffic anymore. He still needs the car for longer trips, but otherwise, short trips, [the bike] is just eating those miles.”

Drawdown GA estimates vehicle emissions to be the number one source of emissions in the state — something biking helps curb.

The highest densities of applicants came from places that are currently best served by transit stations and bike lanes. Moreover, these neighborhoods coincide with the largest and most dense neighborhoods within the city.

The bike or the bike lane — which comes first?

Naturally, people have to feel safe riding their bikes for any program to be effective — a fact that is not lost on Foster and the ARC.

“I think with the City of Atlanta, you are seeing bike infrastructure go in all different parts of the city,” Foster said, referencing PropelATL’s High Injury Network, which identifies corridors with high injury and fatality rates and found that 10 percent of streets in Atlanta account for 73 percent of fatal accidents or serious injuries, and the City of Atlanta’s response in the form of the Vision Zero, which looks to bring the number of accidents in those streets to zero by 2040. “The e-bikes create this virtuous cycle because you will have more people using bikes to get around, and with that, you’ll see more demand for infrastructure throughout the city.”

He added that with added bike infrastructure, which the city has already been adding, will come even more induced ridership — and over time, it will become like a chicken-and-egg sort of self-fulfilling prophecy.

Due to its successes, the report recommends a renewal and expansion of the program. Foster said he hopes that the income-qualified AMI can be even lower in future iterations, to something like 60 percent, along with a larger rebate. 

He’d also like to see an even greater percentage of applicants be income-qualified — higher than the 43 percent of applicants this go ’round.

Keeping the ball — or the bike — rolling

Councilman Matt Westmoreland, one of the primary catalysts behind the program coming to Atlanta, said he’s optimistic the successes of this last year will translate into future allocated funds.

The original idea came when the founder of PropelATL, Rebecca Serna, referenced Denver and Boston’s similar e-bike rebate programs and wondered if Atlanta could do the same. Soon afterward, Westmoreland introduced legislation that created study groups for the program. The million-dollar allocation felt “big enough to make a difference, but small enough to make it in the budget,” said Westmoreland.

After seeing the success of the program, Westmoreland feels excited to continue championing the program.

“It’s so very clear that we should allocate additional funding to this project,” Westmoreland said. “I’ve already had conversations with my Council colleagues and with Mayor Dickens and look forward to making that a reality.”

Westmoreland acknowledged the financial reality of an expanded program but defended it as a worthwhile investment.

“This is an incredible effect, and the more we’re able to invest in it, the better off the city and our residents are going to be,” Westmoreland said.