Not an E-bike, obviously, this old thing was bought nearly 33 years ago.
We owners of old bicycles — or old owners of bikes — may have mixed feelings about Oregon House Bill 2571. But let’s keep an open mind.
Two Portland-area Democrats, Reps. Dacia Grayber and Mark Gamba, introduced the bill to encourage the purchase of electric bicycles.
The bill would give the Department of Environmental Quality $6 million over two years from the general fund. Oregon residents 16 or older could get rebates for buying E-bikes that cost $950 or more.
The rebates would be up to $1,200 for a regular E-bike and up to $1,700 for an electric cargo bike. Retailers registered with the DEQ would be reimbursed by the agency.
The bill had support from many witnesses at a Feb. 8 hearing before the House Climate, Energy and Environment Committee, though one argued that the rebate amounts were too large.
The witnesses touted benefits of more E-bikes being bought and used: Less traffic congestion, lower cost of living for commuters, utility in hilly terrain, and so forth.
Why might cyclists with no E-assists have mixed feelings about all this? Maybe we don’t like always to be overtaken by all those motorized bikes. Maybe on multi-use paths, E-cyclists usually travel too fast for other users’ comfort.
And how come nobody thought of incentives like this for good old-fashioned pedal power over the last 50 or 60 years?
But that sounds petty, doesn’t it?
Regardless what happens to this rebate bill, if widespread use of E-bikes replaced a good percentage of cars in city traffic, this would save a lot of gas, money and noise. (hh)
If they are giving $1200 rebates for an e-bike, shouldn’t I get more for my regular road bike?
I am all for giving e-bikes a rebate though, I am just not ready to take advantage of it yet.
Hasso sounds “woke” on this issue.
The first thing needed is to repeal the bicycle tax. Then we can talk about E-bikes.
The City of Eugene has banned gas stoves. Now, Hasso is touting government subsidies for e-bikes. What’s next? Will Councilwoman Novak advocate banning AR-15s? Perhaps Rep. Boshart-Davis will come out in favor of electric cars. Who can say what might happen now that Hasso has opened the Woke Box of Horror?
Good god government paying people to by their solution to climate change aka man made global warming, which it’s not warming. And who will foot this bill, we the tax payers.
HH you may disregard the following, if you so desire.
Now for context, on my comment it’s not warming, just after the first of the month, visit DR Roy Spencer dot com. His monthly earth snapshot on earths temperature. Look at the tropics and see what’s happening along with the rest of this rock.
After the 17th of the month visit watts up with that dot com, scroll down the page to the US Climate Reference Network, it’s on the right side of the page, except smart phones, at least that’s my experience. This network is 115 high tech weather stations across America, not influenced by man and his urge to build.
Finley wildlife refuge, has one of these weather stations, check it out!
e-bikes are interesting. I just returned from a visit to San Antonio. While walking through Phil Hardberger Park we encountered many e-bikes. They are fast. The park trails are about the only place in that city that I ever see bicyclists of any kind. San Antonio has an amazing number of parks.
By taking money from all Oregon taxpayers and giving it a few Oregon taxpayers government plays a game of Reverse Robin Hood.
A few wealthy folks who can afford an e-bike win, but most Oregonians lose.
Rebates like this are fiscally irresponsible and should be abolished.
Oregon’s spending budget for 2022 was 11.5 billion dollars. 6 million of that equals about .05 percent. Quite a minuscule amount to freak out about and characterize as “fiscally irresponsible “.
“Fiscally irresponsible“ is “fiscally irresponsible”! According to your logic a “little murder” would be OK?
And your logic of thinking jumps to “murder”. How conservative and sensible of you.
Two subjects: I’m too old to handle well a fall off a bike. Would love to live close to a grocery store I could walk to.
Subject two: Is it responsible to print what a climate-warming denier has to spout?
Oh, need to sneak in a third subject: Right-wingers shout “woke” when they disagree with something. It doesn’t mean a damned thing.
Thanks, Hasso, for keeping us informed of the gargantuan hubris coming from Dems that think that ‘their’ supply of OPM is neither finite nor precious. How much more legal plunder can Oregonians take while doing everything possible to coexist with Salem’s parasites?
Ebikes would be wonderful in many Avenue’s. But maybe one should travel to such places as São Paulo or New Delhi first then ask yourself will this create less congestion or more?? Something to ponder….
I’m response to my own comment. I suppose In the whole of OR we don’t even begin to make it close to the population of the cities I traveled to, so there so that. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad having an Ebike zip past you at a lowered speed than thousands of mopeds in São Paulo with a population of 30M.
Waste of money, the dealers will just raise the price like EV car dealers have.