Eligible Californians with low incomes can apply for vouchers worth up to $2,000 to offset the cost of electric bikes on Thursday, after a tech glitch derailed an earlier application process. According to a note on the website of the California E-Bike Incentive Project, the second application window will begin on May 29 at 6 p.m. The base incentive voucher is worth $1,750 with an additional $250 included for priority applicants. Just 1,000 vouchers are up for grabs. Because of high demand for the program, people must enter a virtual waiting room from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. They will be put in a queue at random for the opportunity to snag the limited number of vouchers which can be redeemed at approved retailers when buying approved e-bikes.Tech issues forced the state to postpone its last application round on April 29. The Air Resources Board cited “a high volume of traffic and detected suspicious activity” as the culprit. “As a result, automatic security measures were activated and the website, operated and controlled by CARB’s third-party program administrator, Pedal Ahead, was temporarily unavailable,” CARB said in a release earlier this month. “While the website resumed normal operation shortly after, the decision to reschedule was made to ensure fairness and access for all interested Californians.”The agency said it made changes ahead of Thursday’s application window to prevent service disruptions. “CARB and Pedal Ahead hired Akamai Technologies and Queue-it to manage visitor traffic and host the virtual waiting room,” CARB said. “Both firms are industry leaders in their fields and work with some of the world’s largest companies to securely manage large volumes of data and traffic and will ensure a safe and reliable customer experience.”The applications for the first round of vouchers took place last December. CARB said it has approved 1,022 vouchers to date worth $2 million and about 90% of the vouchers have been redeemed. | PREVIOUS COVERAGE | California’s e-bike incentive application experiences tech issues, will be rescheduledHow do I determine if I’m eligible?The incentive project has a website through the California Air Resources Board with details on eligibility and instructions on how to apply.According to the website, the maximum qualifying gross income for a household of one is $45,180. A family of four has a maximum income limit of $93,600.Priority applicants (which means those who are eligible for the maximum voucher) are those with an income at or below 225% of the federal poverty level or who live in a disadvantaged community. A person in a single household with a gross income of $33,885 or below would be considered a priority applicant.Click here to see whether you qualify based on the size of your household.What types of e-bikes are voucher-eligible?Adaptive e-bikes, cargo e-bikes and class 1-3 e-bikes are all voucher-eligible.However, each of these types of e-bikes still must meet certain criteria to qualify.See the criteria here.The vouchers can also be used for eligible accessories like helmets, lights and racks and related costs like delivery fees or sales tax.Here are items that are not eligible under the program:Used e-bikesE-bike conversion kitsBikes modified with e-bike conversion kitsE-bikes outside of the three-class systemE-bikes without integrated lightsScootersMopeds See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel
Eligible Californians with low incomes can apply for vouchers worth up to $2,000 to offset the cost of electric bikes on Thursday, after a tech glitch derailed an earlier application process.
According to a note on the website of the California E-Bike Incentive Project, the second application window will begin on May 29 at 6 p.m. The base incentive voucher is worth $1,750 with an additional $250 included for priority applicants. Just 1,000 vouchers are up for grabs.
Because of high demand for the program, people must enter a virtual waiting room from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. They will be put in a queue at random for the opportunity to snag the limited number of vouchers which can be redeemed at approved retailers when buying approved e-bikes.
Tech issues forced the state to postpone its last application round on April 29. The Air Resources Board cited “a high volume of traffic and detected suspicious activity” as the culprit.
“As a result, automatic security measures were activated and the website, operated and controlled by CARB’s third-party program administrator, Pedal Ahead, was temporarily unavailable,” CARB said in a release earlier this month. “While the website resumed normal operation shortly after, the decision to reschedule was made to ensure fairness and access for all interested Californians.”
The agency said it made changes ahead of Thursday’s application window to prevent service disruptions.
“CARB and Pedal Ahead hired Akamai Technologies and Queue-it to manage visitor traffic and host the virtual waiting room,” CARB said. “Both firms are industry leaders in their fields and work with some of the world’s largest companies to securely manage large volumes of data and traffic and will ensure a safe and reliable customer experience.”
The applications for the first round of vouchers took place last December. CARB said it has approved 1,022 vouchers to date worth $2 million and about 90% of the vouchers have been redeemed.
| PREVIOUS COVERAGE | California’s e-bike incentive application experiences tech issues, will be rescheduled
How do I determine if I’m eligible?
The incentive project has a website through the California Air Resources Board with details on eligibility and instructions on how to apply.
According to the website, the maximum qualifying gross income for a household of one is $45,180. A family of four has a maximum income limit of $93,600.
Priority applicants (which means those who are eligible for the maximum voucher) are those with an income at or below 225% of the federal poverty level or who live in a disadvantaged community. A person in a single household with a gross income of $33,885 or below would be considered a priority applicant.
Click here to see whether you qualify based on the size of your household.
What types of e-bikes are voucher-eligible?
Adaptive e-bikes, cargo e-bikes and class 1-3 e-bikes are all voucher-eligible.
However, each of these types of e-bikes still must meet certain criteria to qualify.
See the criteria here.
The vouchers can also be used for eligible accessories like helmets, lights and racks and related costs like delivery fees or sales tax.
Here are items that are not eligible under the program:
- Used e-bikes
- E-bike conversion kits
- Bikes modified with e-bike conversion kits
- E-bikes outside of the three-class system
- E-bikes without integrated lights
- Scooters
- Mopeds
See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel