Denver's popular e-bike rebate program to resume applications later this month

Denver's e-bike rebate program will begin taking new applications later this month with some slight changes to the process. It will mark the second round of the popular program funded by a voter-approved sales tax.

At Z Cycle Shop in Denver's Capitol Hill neighborhood, bicycle repairs have long been the specialty, but these days, e-bike sales are becoming a bigger piece of the pie.

Owner Dimitri Rumschlag said he started selling them for the first time last year around the same time as Denver's e-bike rebate program. Months later, he not only sold every e-bike in stock, but he also found new business too.  

"There were a lot of people who came in because they saw the prospect of, 'hey I can ride an e bike,'" Rumschlag said. "The rebate also brought a lot of new people in, so we were teaching la ot of people, we were repairing a lot of these, we were solving some small issues."

Funded by Denver's climate sales tax, the program was launched last April. Since then, more than 4,700 rebates have been redeemed, and 30 cities have inquired about creating their own rebate program.  

"We have not hit peak saturation yet of interest in e-bikes," said Grace Rink, chief climate officer for the city and county of Denver.  

Now on January 31 Rink's office will open applications again, but with some tweaks.  

While low-income vouchers will not change, the regular refund and cargo bike bonus will each be smaller. This time around, residents can receive a $300 discount on the purchase of an e-bike, which is less than the previous $400. Residents can also receive an extra $200 for the purchase of a cargo e-bike, which is less than the previous $500.  

"The average cost of e-bikes purchased in our program dropped by $500. There is just so much demand and so much competition and there's new participants in the market. There are new e-bike providers that are now participating in the program that it drove down the price." 

At Z Cycle Shop, that could present an opportunity, since they only sell the lower price range. Rumschlag says it is about accessibility and getting people off the road.  

"We have some bikes that are like $600 or $700," he said. "They just want to get around the park. They don't need something that's turbo powered that is going to take them 80 miles."  

The applications will reopen on Jan. 31 at 11 a.m. to allow residents without internet at home to use most Denver Public Library branches to access the application portal.

About 860 rebates will be available this time.

The tentative release dates for 2023 are: 

• Tuesday, Jan. 31
• Tuesday, March 28
• Tuesday, May 30
• Tuesday, July 25
• Tuesday, Sept. 26
• Tuesday, Nov. 28

The state of Colorado plans to spend $12 million on a voucher program to help more people buy e-bikes. That money was approved by the state legislature.  

That program is still a work in progress, but could be rolled out in late spring, a representative told CBS News Colorado.