Pasadena Becomes Second City In LA County To Offer E-Bike Rebates

Pasadena residents can receive $500 or more for purchasing an E-Bike. It's the second program of its kind in Los Angeles County.

Who is eligible

Starting July 1, Pasadena residents can receive a $500 rebate for a typical e-bike, $750 for a cargo e-bike, and an additional $250 on top if you are income qualified. Bikes must be purchased by residents, and within the city of Pasadena, to qualify.

• Check out the details

Why it matters

Currently only one other city in Los Angeles County offers an e-bike rebate, Pacoima. You can check out more about that program: Clearing the Air in Wilmington, One E-Bike At A Time.

Colin Bogart, a member of the Pasadena Complete Streets Coalition, says expanding e-bike programs are a matter of environmental protection. He says e-bikes are electrical vehicles, too, just like cars.

"If you care about the environment, if you care about sustainability, if you care about health, air quality—all those things—then the e-bike is worth looking at," said Bogart, whose group advocates for pro-bike policies.

He also says e-bikes also help your health, citing a study where e-bike riders exercise for longer than non-assisted bikes.

Bumps on the road (the backstory)

The City of Pasadena almost didn't have a rebate program. In March 2023, a study by the city found that there were already two state-wide programs for e-bikes, and the city didn't need one as well.

Bogart and his coalition took a look at the study being cited and sent an email blast to their members to ask the city to reconsider.

Their argument? The two programs wouldn't suit residents, they said. One program by the Air Quality Management Board (AQMD) required individuals to turn over their cars to receive a rebate. The other program, by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) has been trying to get up and running for two years, but is still in the works. And when it does, it will offer the rebates to only low-income individuals.

Bogart said 1,000 individuals wrote the city. Shortly after, the coalition began working with the Department of City and Power to make a rebate program.

"It's consistent with city policy," says Bogart, who said Pasadena has had a plan of residents moving about the city without cars for years. A major artery through Pasadena, Union Street, is currently making protected bike lanes. Also, the city has a rebate for electric cars, and for Bogart, it makes sense the city should offer rebates on e-bikes as well.

"E-bikes are less expensive, but are still not cheap, so people need help purchasing them," says Bogart.

What to look out for in an e-bike

California has specific classifications for bikes, and the general rule is that assisted bikes going over 28 mph do not qualify as bicycles. According to California's DMV, e-bikes are defined as "a bicycle fully equipped with fully operable pedals and an electric motor of less than 750 watts."

Bogart says be aware of inexpensive faster e-bikes available online as they may not meet safety standards. "There's a lot of e-bikes out there, a lot of them are sold online, and I believe quite a few of them are not really officially approved for use in the state of California," he says. Some online inexpensive e-bikes may not be serviceable by your local shop, he says.

The Pasadena program requires e-bikes to be purchased in the city to qualify — for safety reasons and to put those rebates back into the local economy.

Other e-bike programs

In addition to the now two e-bike rebate programs in L.A. County (Pasadena and Wilmington), there are e-bike rental programs, GoSGV in the San Gabriel Valley, and Electro-Bici in Pacoima.

How to pull into the bike lane

To get the rebate, you must be a Pasadena resident and purchase your bike from a Pasadena bike shop. You'll need your Pasadena Dept. of Water and Power account information handy (only electric customers are eligible and two per household).

Fill out the paperwork from the City Hall's website, and submit that with a receipt to the city. The city will verify the purchase with the vendor, then cut you a check in the mail.