TCI Supports the E-Bike Act

It’s not often the government does something that regards bikes in a way that makes me take notice. That changed last week when five congressmen re-introduced the E-BIKE Act. That is, the legislation is the Electric Bicycle Incentive Kickstart for the Environment Act. 

It proposes tax credits for people who purchase e-bikes. This was proposed back in 2021 but it didn’t make it to Biden’s desk. 

The plan is to offer 30% back on the purchase price of an e-bike costing up to $8000, which leaves out pretty much all Specialized eMTBs. But for anyone contemplating an e-bike from one of the D2C companies, it could make for a remarkable discount. The credit maxes out at $1500. 

There are some limitations. It would be good for one purchase every three years or two every three years for couples who file jointly. 

Single households would be capped at $150k, heads of household would be capped at $225k and joint households would be capped at $300k. 

Cycling’s largest advocacy organization, People for Bikes, supports the legislation and has created a page where people can write to their representatives urging them to support the bill. 

In my other job I’ve been doing some math (generally a bad idea) on the difference between how much CO2 charging an e-bike puts into the atmosphere vs. an EV vs. an internal combustion engine. The numbers are terrible. And what’s really scary is if someone’s power is supplied by a coal-fired power plant, an EV is still better than a regular car, but not by much. 

I’m well aware that there are people who hear e-bike and think, “Jerk with no riding skills.” Just this once, I’d love for us all to look beyond any negative associations (if any) that we may feel regarding e-bikes and simply consider that this legislation is not only good for the environment, but it could improve the lot of people who whose lives need improving.

We hope you’ll click on the link below and demonstrate your support for this legislation. Of the many subsidies our government provides, this one is unusually equal-opportunity. You can write to your legislators by following this link to People for Bikes.