DENVER (KDVR) — If you’re hoping to take part in Denver’s popular e-bike rebate program, you may need to find a faster internet connection.
On Tuesday, the city rolled out its latest round of applications, with 860 vouchers available.
“In about 20 minutes, they were all gone,” said Grace Rink, who leads the city’s Office of Climate Action, Sustainability and Resiliency. “We had 7,000 people start the application process online.”
At one point, Rink said the city was logging 9,000 website clicks a minute as thousands tried refreshing the page to get a voucher.
“I think next time we’ll make sure when that moment closes, a message displays that explains why the site has closed down,” Rink said.
4,700 e-bike rebates redeemed in 2022
The demand is no surprise, Rink said, after what the city saw after rolling out the program on Earth Day of last year.
In 2022, 4,734 e-bike rebates were redeemed, including 2,330 to income-qualified residents.
A survey of those voucher users showed 71% are using their cars less often, and 96% reported the voucher made the difference when deciding to buy an e-bike.
The program is being funded through a 0.25% sales tax passed by voters in 2020.
At Denver’s SloHi Coffee and Bike, owner Adam Williams said more than half of his sales are now e-bikes. He said the rebate program has been great for business, and he’s glad to see it continuing in 2023.
“E-bike sales just dominated starting in April, May of last year, and then ran all the way through,” he said.
The tentative e-bike voucher release dates for 2023 are:
- Tuesday, Jan. 31
- Tuesday, March 28
- Tuesday, May 30
- Tuesday, July 25
- Tuesday, Sept. 26
- Tuesday, Nov. 28
Rink recommends having your proof of residency ready, as well as documentation showing income, to speed up the process should you be lucky enough to snag a voucher.
