Atlanta’s e-bike program kicks off

In early 2024, the City of Atlanta announced a joint e-bike rebate program with the Atlanta Regional Commission and Propel ATL. That moment has finally arrived.

Beginning Sunday, June 17, Atlanta residents will be able to apply for one of four rebate program tiers:

• Standard electric bike ($500)
• Standard Electric Cargo Bike ($1,000)
• Income-eligible electric bicycle ($1,500)
• Income-eligible electric cargo bike ($2,000)

Expecting a high demand for applicants, the city only gave applicants a one-week window, which expired on Sunday, June 23. By the end of the week, it had about 9,000 applicants.

Now, these applicants have been randomly selected to receive the rebates and will be able to use their money to purchase electric bikes to ride around the streets of Atlanta. About 400 applicants were selected for this round of rebates.

It is unclear at this time how the discounts were distributed among these four categories. Applicants who were not selected will be automatically entered into subsequent lotteries, according to Propel ATL.

Winners will be able to redeem their discounts at any of the 12 stores located within the initiative’s partner cities. A full interactive map of participating locations is available here.

Kathy Woirol, owner of Pedego Atlanta e-bike shop since 2021 and one of 12 certified stores, is excited that the discounts are finally live. She said she’s been waiting more than a year to see the initiative fully realized and have it launched on Earth Day 2023.

“It’s about time, that’s my honest answer,” Woirol said. “I hope this means people will go out and buy e-bikes.”

The White Awards were notified last week, and partner organizations will still need to verify applicants’ eligibility — things like their Atlanta address and annual income for those who applied for qualifying income levels — in the coming weeks.

Still, Woolol hopes people will start coming into his store by the end of July.

Those discounts should be a big help to people looking to get into this alternative mode of transportation, Woorol said, because e-bikes can cost thousands of dollars. The bikes in his shop, for example, cost about $2,000.

Regardless of how many people shop at her store, Woirol also said the initiative has raised awareness among the city’s cycling community. As a cyclist herself, she has seen the city increasingly embrace bicycles and e-bikes.

“E-bikes are still a relatively new concept for the mass market, so I hope the program has raised awareness among people, especially those who would otherwise not get on a bike,” Woirol said. “I hope the program helps more people understand that they can still get on a bike and enjoy it.”

She added that events like Propel ATL’s Atlanta Streets Alive, where sections of major roads like Peachtree Street are closed to allow cyclists to ride safely, have helped raise awareness of e-bikes; the event now hosts e-bike expos along its travel lanes, where cyclists can view and test e-bikes to learn more about them.

The next Streets Alive is scheduled for July 28.

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