Washington State E-Bike Rebates
By Jenna
Update 9/6/23: Here’s the latest notes from WSDOT about the rebate program and the roll out. We’re keeping our eyes out for more info whenever it’s announced!
We are stoked to learn about the new e-bike rebates that were included in the newly passed Washington State budget, and what this could mean for making quality e-bikes more accessible to everyone in our state. Rebates of $300 or $1200 will be available to Washington residents 16 and up, depending on household income. We’ve outlined what we know about the rebates so far, as well as some questions we hope to learn the answers to below:
On April 23, 2023, the Washington State Legislature passed the 2023-25 budget which includes $5 million slated to be used for e-bike rebates for qualifying residents.
To qualify, you must:
be a Washington state resident at least 16 years of age and
be purchasing a qualifying bike (a bike that meets WA requirements to be considered a class 1, 2, or 3 e-bike, though it explicitly excludes mountain bikes)
from a qualifying shop (a brick-and-mortar shop based in Washington that has registered with the department to participate in the rebate program).
Rebates of $1200 will be available for households with incomes at or below 80% of the county area median income. Otherwise, the available rebates are $300. Only one rebate is allowed per household. For more information about the different e-bike classes in Washington State, click here.
If they are purchased in the same transaction as the bike, the rebate also applies to a helmet, safety vest, light, and/or lock.
At this point, the legislation states that interested Washington bike shops will be asked to apply to participate in the rebate program. Then customers can apply for the rebate and are supposed to be awarded the rebate in a format that can be “redeemed at the time of purchase at a qualifying retailer”. Neither of these application processes have been established yet. It seems that shops will be asked to apply the rebate to the qualifying bike purchase and will be reimbursed by the Department of Transportation, which means the consumer would be able to utilize the rebate at the time of purchase rather than reimbursement at a future date.
Questions we still have:
What constitutes a mountain bike in this situation?
Are there minimum or maximum prices for the bike?
How will the application process work for customers and shops?
What happens after the allotted $5 million has been distributed?
At what point in the process is the customer’s income verified?
When will this go into effect?
Can the rebate be retroactively claimed for a bike already purchased, or if purchased without pre-applying?
We will continue to monitor updates and keep our customers informed. We’re really excited to see steps being made toward encouraging the use of e-bikes as modes of transportation. If you’d like to check out the budget yourself, the rebates are outlined starting on page 118, line 34 in this document.
And to learn more about the different e-bike incentives available around North America, check out this super comprehensive spreadsheet by the Transportation Research and Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University.