SACRAMENTO, Calif. (BRAIN) — The industry has reached its $60,000 fundraising goal to help the California Bicycle Coalition promote its proposal for rebates of up to $1,000 for the purchase of an e-bike, and up to $500 for a conventional transportation bike.
Larry Pizzi, head of the BPSA's e-bike committee, said today that a handful of contributions came in Thursday to put the fundraising campaign over the top.
The funds will underwrite CalBike's costs for hiring a staffer to oversee the lobbying efforts for the rebate program. CalBike is proposing a $10 million pilot project under which consumers could receive rebates for buying transportation bikes.
"It would be just be an incredible boon for the industry," Jenn Guitart, the CalBike development director, said. The proposal seeks to tap into California's clean vehicle rebate program, which offers rebates on the purchase of electric cars.
Consumers would be eligible for rebates of up to 50 percent of the cost of purchasing a transportation bike — up to a maximum of $1,000 for an e-bike and $500 for a conventional bike.
The proposal is aimed at "utilitarian" bikes that would be commonly used for commuting, including cargo bikes, e-bikes, folding bikes, bike share bikes and other transportation-oriented models.
CalBike has been in discussions with the state Air Resources Board, which oversees the funds, and believes it has a good chance of securing funding as early as this year.
"We have a great chance for a historic moment for bicycling in California," Pizzi said.
Pizzi, who is also senior vice president at Accell North America, said the BPSA and PeopleForBikes each pledged $20,000.
Other contributors include Accell, Beeline Bikes, Bosch, ElectricBikeReview.com, Giant, Alan Goldsmith, Pedego, Shimano, Specialized, Tempo, Tern, TranzX, and Yuba.
