Denver's e-bike rebate program reopens next month

Denver's extremely popular e-bike rebate program will open again in about two weeks. Applications will open July 11.

The city will also release a limited number of rebates every month for the rest of the year. Most Denver residents are eligible for the $400 rebate. Additional assistance is available for those who are income-qualified.  

LINK: Denver E-Bike Rebate Program

"We know that e-bikes are really popular. There's a lot of demand out there for them, and people are just excited about the opportunity to get them in a more affordable way," said Piep Van Heuven, Government Relations Director for Bicycle Colorado. "It's the perfect solution to a transportation need, it's also the perfect solution to some of our air quality issues. We do not have more room for cars in Colorado and the e-bike is really the game changer in that arena." 

Meantime, Colorado plans to spend $12 million on a voucher program to help more people buy e-bikes. The money was approved earlier this year by the state Legislature.

The Colorado Department of Energy tells CBS4 they are still sorting out a lot of the details, but they hope to launch late this year or early next year.

Late last year, the department launched several pilot programs around the state to prepare. Those behind the upcoming program tell CBS4 they're watching Denver's program closely.  

"It's great that they ran out of vouchers so quickly, but that's also making us think about how quickly we want to roll out our funding or if we want to parcel it out," said Senior Program Manager Sarah Thorne. 

The rebates will target people with low and moderate incomes but exact eligibility requirements are still being decided.

"Since it is focused towards low and moderate income, I would like it to be a substantial enough amount that actually offsets the cost of the bike so people can afford it and actually use them," Thorne said.