E-bike rebates could be one of the most cost-effective ways to save money, get active, and reduce harmful pollution, reported Electric Autonomy.
The outlet wrote that a new study from the University of British Columbia in Canada found encouraging results for anyone looking to make healthier and affordable travel choices.
In Saanich, a suburb of Victoria, British Columbia, a local e-bike rebate program gave residents between $350 and $1,600 off a new e-bike, depending on their income. Nearly 400 people joined the program.
On average, participants reduced their car travel by nearly 50 kilometers per week, avoiding around 16 kilograms of harmful carbon pollution, all by swapping some of their usual car trips for bike rides. Alex Bigazzi, the study's lead author and a professor of civil engineering at UBC, referred to the shift as "remarkable," per Electric Autonomy.
UBC researchers tracked 164 rebate recipients and found that they rode their e-bikes three to four times per week, a lot more than locals who bought bikes without a rebate. Many were first-time riders who started biking to work, school, and the store.
E-bikes can save riders serious cash on commuting costs like gas, insurance, and maintenance, and they come with health benefits, too.
Riding a few times per week is a low-stress way to stay active and cut down on pollution in your community.
Plus, it's a big win for the environment: Replacing even a few short car trips each week helps lower the amount of harmful pollution in the air.
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If you're ready to try one, Upway makes getting started easy with a wide variety of e-bikes, many up to 60% off retail prices.
Or if you're thinking of upgrading, Upway also buys used e-bikes, so you can trade in your current ride and save even more.
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According to Bigazzi, e-bike rebates gave people more value for reducing pollution than the province's electric vehicle incentives.
"We recommend more places consider shifting a portion of their climate mitigation dollars from electric car incentives to electric bike incentives," Bigazzi said, per Electric Autonomy.
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