Basalt offers e-bike rebate for second summer in a row

The town of Basalt is offering its second year of rebates for town residents looking to purchase electric bicycles. 

The rebate, which is $500 for full-time residents, is offered as an incentive to purchase an e-bike. The town hopes that residents will consider replacing some of their vehicle commutes with e-bikes, which are less greenhouse gas intensive.

“The Basalt strategic work plan identified, among other things, reducing greenhouse gas emissions as a goal for the town,” said Interim Town Manager Doug Pattison. “Ground Transportation is a contributor to the emissions in Basalt. So the idea is to encourage more people to bike to work and use a bike as an alternative to an automobile, thereby, limiting greenhouse gas emissions.”

This is the second year of the Basalt rebate. In its first year, the rebate was issued 59 times. The town of Basalt has allocated $40,000 from its “Green Team” to find the rebate. The Green Team is funded from the Basalt general fund and aims to create a more sustainable Basalt. 

According to a study by the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, 50% of car trips in the United States of America in 2021 were less than three miles. Dova Castañeda Zilly, Clean Mobility Program Manager at CLEER, a Roaring Fork Valley environmental nonprofit, said these are the kind of trips e-bikes can replace. 

“Most people could bike three miles with an e-bike, because then, you know you have the electric assist,” said Castañeda Zilly. “You can get a basket or a trailer to put your stuff in, or your kids in.”

Castañeda Zilly acknowledged that because of geographical considerations in the Roaring Fork Valley, not all trips can be made without a car. She said, however, it was likely that many people could find a way to replace some trips with an electric commuter bike. 

The Basalt program specifically focuses on these types of cargo-carrying e-bikes, as it excludes electric mountain bikes from eligibility for these rebates. There is no limit on the “class,” of e-bike, or the level of assistance it provides. 

The $500 Basalt rebate can be stacked with other rebates, meaning that Basalt residents could get as much as $1,000 toward an ebike purchase in combination with the $450 Colorado State Tax Credit for ebike purchases, and a $50 rebate from Holy Cross Energy.

These types of rebates have brought some business to local retailers like Basalt Bike and Ski, despite no limitations on what retailer the Basalt rebate can be used at. 

“It’s super common for folks in Carbondale and Basalt to buy an e-bike that they’ll use for groceries, errands, even taking their kids to school,” said the manager at Basalt Bike and Ski, Nick Penzel. “So it’s really fun and cool to see the rebates being used to kind of replace a car.”

For Castañeda Zilly, who resides in the Roaring Fork Valley, an e-bike she was able to purchase with the assistance of a rebate program has all but replaced her car. 

“I live and work in the same town, so I immediately started replacing 99% of my car trips with my e-bike,” she said. 

She is now able to get to work, go grocery shopping, and run miscellaneous errands almost exclusively with her e-bike. 

In order to qualify for the rebate in Basalt, applicants must be able to show that they live full-time within the town of Basalt limits. Applicants will also have to fill out a W-9 and upload a government ID.

More information on the rebate application can be found at https://www.basalt.net/665/E-Bike-Rebate.