Staci Dickerson – photo by John Stroud.
Staci Dickerson of Carbondale can boil her e-bike experience down to two words: “Game changer.”
“A lot of things are noticeably different from riding a regular bike,” she said. “I can ride my e-bike to work or to go run an errand in bad weather, or in the wind, or when it’s hot. It’s just easier to get around.”
After acquiring her new ride last year through the eBikeThere Garfield County program, Dickerson began regularly taking it to her job across town at Carbondale Arts’ The Launchpad.
She soon noticed something else, too – a renewed love for riding bikes.
Many years of hitting it hard on the ski slopes and out on the mountain biking trails had taken its toll on her knees, to the point that it was affecting her physically.
But her new e-bike, with its built-in smart sensors that automatically adjust the electric motor pedal-assist function of the bike depending on how hard a rider is pedaling, also helped with her reconditioning.
“It’s been a game changer and a life saver, really,” she said.
Dickerson said she probably wouldn’t have considered buying an e-bike if it hadn’t been for the opportunity to buy one for a fraction of the cost through eBikeThere. The program launched in 2023, inviting income-qualified applicants to apply to receive one of 40 e-bikes for only $150 out of pocket.
CLEER (Clean Energy Economy for the Region) was able to create the program with a grant from the Colorado Energy Office’s Community Access Enterprise fund, which receives its funding from the state’s retail delivery fee for online purchasing, and with local matching funds from Garfield Clean Energy. CLEER is the nonprofit that runs Garfield Clean Energy’s programs.
“One of our goals is to give residents access to cleaner mobility options,” said Martín Bonzi, project lead for eBikeThere. “There are a lot of different programs to do that, and this e-bike program is one of them.”
Bikes were distributed pretty evenly across Garfield County, from Carbondale to Parachute and Battlement Mesa, he said.
In return, bike recipients were asked to log the mileage they put on their bikes and to report quarterly about how they are using their bikes, and what they like and don’t like about using an e-bike.
Far and away the most common use for the bikes has been for commuting to and from work and around town, especially during the non-winter months. By replacing car trips with e-bike trips, Bonzi noted, participants are saving on fuel, promoting their mental and physical wellbeing, and reducing pollution and congestion.
Kurt Kuper – photo by John Stroud.
Kurt Kuper of Glenwood Springs was another eBikeThere participant. He regularly commutes on his bike from his home in east Glenwood Springs to his job at the Habitat ReStore, about five miles south of town via the Rio Grande Trail.
“It’s a fairly short commute, about 15 minutes, and it’s truly a joy to ride there in the mornings and to see the mountains and the sun rising, and the plants and wildlife, and feel the fresh air,” Kuper said.
“There are many pros to using an e-bike to commute,” he added. “Not dealing with traffic is huge. And saving money on fuel or bus fare is another plus.”
The Roaring Fork Valley’s paved trail infrastructure and dedicated bike lanes on streets and roads makes it feasible for bike commuting, Kuper said, “and it’s only getting better.”
The popularity of the program last year did result in some adjustments when GCE applied again for the grant in 2024, Bonzi said.
Immense interest in the e-bike offer after an aggressive promotional effort resulted in about 350 applicants for the 40 bikes that were available in 2023.
“Almost nine out of 10 applicants didn’t get an e-bike,” Bonzi said.
GCE applied for and received the state grant for a second time this year, only this time approached it a little differently. The number of available bikes was increased to 50, and instead of opening the application process up generally, GCE decided to target specific partner organizations for e-bike incentives.
“In the first round, we saw some recurring partners, like school district and library employees, and people who are on the WIC (Women, Infants and Children food assistance) program, for example,” Bonzi said. “So, instead of spreading the word everywhere, we just focused on those partners.”
The number of applications received this year was closer to the number of e-bikes available, so most qualified applicants received an e-bike.
“Having more bikes also allowed us to get more of them all throughout the county,” he said.
The model selected for this year’s program was also somewhat more technologically advanced, featuring a mid-drive motor that offers better performance. As was the case for the first go-around, several other accessories came with each bike, including helmet, lock and cargo carriers. If recipients follow through and complete the requested user survey after about six months, they’ll also receive a $200 bike maintenance voucher.
Survey responses from last year’s group also indicated that participants regularly shared their e-bikes with other family members, who also were using them to run errands, go to the library, or just for recreation, Bonzi said.
GCE is in discussions about ways to continue the e-bike program, as the state grant is no longer being offered. In the meantime, all Colorado residents are eligible for a $450 tax credit rebate for purchasing an e-bike, also through the Colorado Energy Office.
