Cleveland Offering Rebates for New E-Bike Purchases

Want an e-bike but too intimidated by the price tag?

City Hall is here to help.

In September, Mayor Justin Bibb’s Office of Sustainability is partnering with Bike Cleveland to chip in up to $1,500 to help new e-bike owners with that purchase (which can easily match that of a used car).

Starting September 1, Clevelanders can apply on a new website to score a $500 point-of-sale rebate when buying an e-bike at a list of select local bike shops. Those at or below 80 percent of Cleveland’s Area Median Income can get up to $1,500 off that receipt.

The incentive for the city is quite obvious: get more bikes (and fewer cars) on the streets as those streets gradually begin seeing new bike infrastructure installed. The city’s Cleveland Moves initiative hopes to install 50 miles of new bike lanes by 2028.

“By making e-bikes more affordable, we’re helping residents save money, improve access to jobs and essential services, reduce [greenhouse gas] emissions and make sustainable transportation a practical option for more Clevelanders,” Sarah O’Keeffe, the city’s sustainability and climate justice director, said.

After applying for a rebate, winners of the random lottery drawing will have two months to use that rebate at a participating store.

That money will be good for a Class 1 (a pedal-assited motor) or Class 2 bike (a motor that operates without pedaling), and a replacement battery. Remaining funds can be used on accessories, like locks, helmets, baskets or racks.

E-bikes have risen in recent years as viable replacements for cars or other forms of high-speed transportation. But at a steeper price than traditional one-speeds. Out of the $100 million spent on electric cargo bikes in the U.S. in 2024, the average e-bike cost roughly $2,600 on average.

Cleveland’s rebate program follows similar efforts in Denver, Atlanta, Columbus and Portland, Ore., to incentivize shifts to cleaner and cheaper modes of transportation. In April, Portland created a $20 million fund to help spark the purchase of 6,000 e-bikes.