The latest win for alternative transit was just announced in Atlanta — a joint rebate program between the Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC), the City of Atlanta, and Propel ATL to help residents buy their own electric bicycle (e-bike).
The program is aimed at low and moderate income Atlanta residents. It doesn’t have a specific launch date, but is said to be launching in Spring 2024.
“Income qualified residents are eligible to receive a $1,500 rebate for a standard e-bike and $2,000 for a cargo e-bike. Rebates for other residents are $500 for a standard e-bike and $1,000 for a cargo e-bike” according to the ARC website. With an average price of around $2,000, the rebate is significant.
The program is expected to bring anywhere from 800 to 1000 new e-bikes to the streets of Atlanta. The website lists various economic, environmental and health benefits and makes the case for e-bikes, especially for trips less than 10 miles: “over 75 percent of trips in the US are under ten miles, with 60 percent being less than six miles,” according to the ARC.
“E-bikes are truly a game-changer, giving people access to an affordable transportation option for short trips that would otherwise require a car,” said Anna Roach, Executive Director & CEO of the ARC according to a press release.
The move comes as a win for many who had been advocating for such a policy for a while, like Propel ATL, a nonprofit focused on alternative mobility.
Another longtime advocate for e-bikes and author of the alternative mobility solution Drawdown Georgia, Dr. Daniel Matisoff, said increased adoption and use of e-bikes could help the state reach its carbon reduction goals. This was supported by a techno-economic analysis by Drawdown Georgia.
“We calculated that a 10 percent increase in walking / biking for urban trips under 4 miles would result in a 3.6 Mt (million metric tons) reduction in CO2, which is approximately 3.6 percent of Georgia’s carbon footprint,” Matisoff said.
Matisoff also pointed towards better cardiovascular health, theoretically, by reducing emissions and improving air quality, as well as progress towards defeating a common enemy for residents of Atlanta: traffic.
“Globally, e-bikes are rapidly increasing and have far greater impact on emissions reductions than electric vehicles,” Matisoff said. “Their role for improving mobility options cannot be overstated.”
Especially for short distances, e-bikes — along with scooters and other light individual transportation vehicles — are making a great impact. In some scenarios, they’re believed to be having a greater impact than electric vehicles, which can be resource intensive between their batteries, materials, charging infrastructure needed, and electricity demand.
“I am excited to see the impacts of this important policy initiative in improving mobility options, reducing congestion, and moving Atlanta towards a more sustainable transportation system,” Matisoff said. “I hope that this can be a model for accelerating our sustainability transition and prove the viability of e-bikes as a valuable approach for sustainable transportation.”
Can Atlanta support e-bikes?
With all of their potential to reduce traffic, tailpipe emissions and be an introduction for alternative transportation to many, it remains to be seen whether this will have the impact implementers are hoping to achieve. Propel ATL shared a 2021 study that found e-bikes reduced the use of a car by 21 percent over the study period; it’s clear that they, like many, are all in for e-bikes and light individual transportation.
One of the largest barriers to making it successful, however, is making Atlanta more bikeable. The city isn’t exactly known for its terrific urban form nor its extensive biker network of protected bike lanes. In fact, the organization’s Annual Policy and Street Agenda lists “Advocate for a bike/LIT network that is connected, protected, colorful and comfortable” as one of its recommendations.
Propel ATL’s website also details the city’s growing bike and light individual transportation (LIT) network; according to their data which was provided by the City of Atlanta, the city has added 42 miles of bike and LIT lanes since 2017 and sits at 146 miles today.
With protected bike lanes generally thought of as the pinnacle of biking infrastructure, 7 miles may need to be increased to give riders a sense of security and feel valued.
Midtown Alliance published a map (below) in 2023 showing the bike lanes in the city, with the densest concentrations being closer to the city core. Downtown Atlanta received bike lanes late last year as well.
It should be noted, too, that the Beltline continues to develop, and serves as a bikeable path as well — though the city will need a larger commitment to bike infrastructure even still.
Nonetheless, greater potential protected bike lanes exists and is necessary to truly make e-bikes and alternative transit a viable option — especially in lower income communities away from the city center who could benefit the most from alternatives to car travel that can be expensive by comparison.
“Car ownership is particularly expensive and public transportation in Atlanta is not well developed,” Matisoff said. “Even when MARTA options exist, there are particularly poor options for the ‘last mile’, and e-bikes and other light individualized transportation options help people get to where they need to go — quickly and cheaply.”
Could this be a chicken and the egg scenario: more bike riders that cause demand for better and more extensive bike transportation infrastructure, or increased bike infrastructure leading to more riders? Only time will tell, but the e-bike program is certainly indicative that the city believes alternative transit is worth enough to test, even if only on a pilot basis.
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