More Routt County residents are choosing to ride e-bikes to school, work and errands, or just for fun, as evidenced by the strong turnout of income-qualified citizens who applied for the most recent round of the statewide Community Access to Electric Bicycles Rebate program.

The Colorado Energy Office reports that 43 low- to moderate-income Routt residents took advantage of the state rebates to buy a new e-bike at a qualified retailer utilizing a $500 to $1,100 rebate.

Communications Manager Eli Rosenblum at the Colorado Energy Office said uptake of the program in Routt County was relatively strong for the size of population. By the numbers, the top four by-county rebates include Jefferson at 646 rebates, Boulder at 578, Denver at 559 and Larimer at 457. Moffat County residents have redeemed seven e-bike rebates through the state.

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The statewide e-bike rebate program that kicked off in August will launch at least one more round in February, Rosenblum said. Three Steamboat Springs stores participating in the lower-income rebate program include Classic Crank Bicycle Shoppe, Steamboat Ski and Bike Kare, and Ride Workshop, according to the Colorado Energy Office website.

On April 1, all Colorado residents can take advantage of a state e-bike tax credit that offers a $450 discount off the purchase of a qualified e-bike from an authorized retailer, Rosenblum said. This new statewide e-bike tax credit will function as a point-of-sale discount.

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In addition, in 2023 the energy office issued a separate $129,000 Community Access to Electric Bicycles Grant to nonprofit Routt County Riders that provided 41 bikes to local residents who were referred by human service agencies. Laraine Martin, Routt County Riders executive director, said the group has applied for grant funds to provide the offering again this year.

“We have been working with Pedego Steamboat to supply and maintain the bikes,” Martin said. “Our 2024 grant application totals $185,000, so we are hoping to do closer to 50 e-bikes in 2024.”

The state office funded seven additional e-bike grant programs across Colorado throughout 2023 ranging from the E-Bike to Work Ownership Program in Grand Junction to eBikeThere Garfield County and Earn-a-Bike through Community Cycles in Boulder.

During the 2022 Energy Hero rebates program at Yampa Valley Electric Association, the $150 rebates for e-bikes available to YVEA customers at the time was a popular item for the Energy Hero rebate applications, officials noted.

Applications for the state e-bike rebate program resume in February when the energy office will reallocate $1.8 million in additional funding to support at least one additional round of e-bike rebate applications.

Qualifying individuals need to submit proof of income and Colorado residency, and qualified applicants will be selected randomly to receive the rebate after each application round closes. Eligible Coloradans will be able to apply for the rebate through an online application at EnergyOffice.colorado.gov/ebike-rebates.

Executive Director Will Toor at the energy office said a major reason behind the program is that transportation is a leading source of greenhouse gas pollution in Colorado and a major contributor of dangerous ground-level ozone-forming pollutants.

“These rebates will ensure this wonderful form of clean transportation is more accessible to Coloradans at every income level,” Toor said.

James Koch, bike manager at Ski Haus, said even though the store has not yet signed up to be an authorized retailer through the state rebate program, the store sells some 100 e-bikes a year, more than doubling annual sales in the past five years.

“E-bikes are second to mountain bikes in our sales,” said Harry Martin, owner at Steamboat Ski and Bike Kare. “In general, the sales trend has increased in the past five years. COVID was our highest sales in both e-bikes and bikes overall.”