City of Tampa eBike Voucher Program

As a response to these statistics, the City of Tampa, through the leadership of Mayor Jane Castor, decided to join the Vision Zero Network (in 2020) and become a Vision Zero City with the goal of eliminating severe injuries and fatalities on our roadways. While not directly a Vision Zero project, the City of Tampa’s eBike Voucher Program was designed to be one tool in the city’s belt to begin addressing the high crash statistics on our roadways.

The City of Tampa’s eBike Voucher Program launched in Spring 2023 with a program funding of $170,000. Support for the program came through a partnership between the City’s Parking Division and the Sustainability and Resiliency Office to provide 180 vouchers for City of Tampa Residents to reduce the upfront cost of purchasing an eBike. The program was designed around seven main goals:

1. Reduce the number of internal combustion engine vehicles on Tampa roadways.
2. Reduce the City of Tampa’s greenhouse gas emissions.
3. Provide an incentive to adopt micromobility transit.
4. Improve bike safety within the City of Tampa.
5. Encourage the use of existing bicycle facilities.
6. Provide economic growth through the support of local businesses.
7. Provide connections to jobs and opportunities while encouraging healthy habits among City of Tampa residents.

Accessibility and equity were at the forefront in the design of this program. The basic requirement for program qualification was to be 18 years old or older and live within the City of Tampa limits. Ensuring that as many residents within Tampa had access to this program as possible was essential. Not only was the program designed to allow for maximum participation, but the vouchers offered through the program provided additional upfront purchase discounts to individuals in low-income households. Using the allotted program funding the four offered voucher types through this program were:

• $500 Standard eBike Voucher, which any Tampa resident over the age of 18 could apply for and was valid for a standard Class I eBike.
• $1,000 Standard eCargo Bike Voucher, also available to any Tampa resident over 18, but was only valid for a Class I eCargo Bike.
• $1,000 Income Qualified eBike Voucher (reserved for individuals in households that met the income requirement).
• $2,000 Income Qualified eCargo Bike Voucher (reserved for individuals in households that met the income requirement).

At 8:00 a.m. on the morning of Friday, March 31, 2023, the eBike Voucher Program online application opened for all City of Tampa residents and remained open for a two-week period through 5:00 p.m. on Friday, April 14. During this time program staff offered two in-person paper application assistance sessions for individuals who were not comfortable using a computer to apply for the program or those who may not have the necessary skills to do so. These sessions were offered during the lunch hour the first week of the application window and were held after shift work hours the second week to allow for accommodation of as many potential applicants as possible. Program staff also hosted an in-person hands-on informational session at a park in one of the City’s historically underserved communities. This event featured paper application assistance, program information, music, ice cream, and free test rides of eBikes from one of our participating bike shops. For many of the event goers, they reported that having the opportunity to “try-out” an eBike in-person made the difference in them applying for the program. Most individuals even indicated they were unfamiliar with what an eBike was or had the capabilities to do and said they prior to the event they were not considering even applying.

Over the two-week application period, nearly 1,000 applications came in vying for the 180 vouchers offered through the program. For the 50 Income-Qualified eBike Vouchers, there were 119 applications; for the 20 Income-Qualified eCargo Bike Vouchers there were over 200 applicants; for the 60 Standard eBike Vouchers there were also over 200 applicants; and for the 50 Standard eCargo Bike Vouchers over 350 applicants. For program staff, this volume of interest was far from expected, but overwhelmingly exciting to see.

eBike Vouchers were awarded and sent to recipients in May 2023 and as of July 9 (the voucher expiration date) 69 of the 180 awarded vouchers had been redeemed. With the remaining vouchers expiring, City staff decided to redraw names from the applicant pool to exhaust the program funding and provide as many vouchers to City of Tampa residents as possible. The second round of voucher recipients were identified and notified on September 1, 2023. Following this second round of awarded vouchers, an additional 24 vouchers were redeemed.

Indicating some success in reaching the program’s intended audience, 69% of program applicants had a reported household income of less than $75,000, while 57% of the applicants had a reported household income of $50,000 or less, and over 30% had a reported household income of $25,000 or less. Just over 50% of the applicants also indicated that they were a race other than white. The 2023 run of the eBike Voucher Program saw 20% of the recipients in the age group of 22-to-30-year-olds. This age bracket makes up about 18% of the City of Tampa’s total population so this metric was as expected. However, the recipients aged 31 to 41 only make up 15% of the City’s population but saw a much higher representation in the number of redeemed vouchers. The same can also be said for individuals ages 51 to 65 who make up roughly 20% of the population in the City of Tampa but made up nearly 30% of the eBike Voucher Program individuals who redeemed their vouchers.

Using data reported by the participating bike shops, City of Tampa eBike Voucher Program Staff was able to calculate the average cost savings to voucher recipients across the four different voucher types. For the overall program, the average cost savings to voucher recipients was 52%. For those that applied for and redeemed one of the program’s Standard Vouchers, an average savings of 46% was reported while those who redeemed one of the Income Qualified Vouchers saved an average of 58% off the ticketed cost of the eBike. It should be noted that many voucher recipients also purchased accessories such as mirrors, panniers, and cargo adaptors which were not factored into the discount and savings calculation as the vouchers only applied to the cost of the eBike purchased. For those who purchased an eBike using Standard Vouchers, the average eBike ticketed price was $2,080, but the recipient only paid on average $1,048. For those that received an Income Qualified Voucher, the out-of-pocket cost was far less. With an average ticketed price of $2,042, the income qualified recipients only paid an average of $744 out of pocket at the time of purchase for their eBike.

To further gauge the success of the program, and to solicit feedback for improvements to the process going forward, a survey was sent out to all eBike Voucher recipients who redeemed their vouchers. Prior to obtaining their eBike through this program, most voucher recipients indicated that they either never biked, or only rarely biked in their day to day lives. However, following their redemption of the eBike Voucher most recipients reported that they now bike weekly with a large portion of recipients even reporting that they are now biking daily. On average, 15% of recipients were using their new eBike at least once weekly, with 55% using their new bike between two and six times per week. Roughly 11% of the voucher recipients even reported that they are using their new eBike nearly every day of the week.

Over 70% of voucher recipients that redeemed their vouchers indicated that they are using their personal vehicle less now that they have access to a personal eBike. They are using the bike offset trips to the grocery store, the gym, to work, and even to take their kids to school. These trips taken by bike rather than car bode well for the program’s goal of reducing the number of combustion engine vehicles on our roadways, reducing traffic congestion, and reducing the carbon emissions within the city, all while improving air quality and encouraging healthy habits among City of Tampa residents. 98% of voucher recipients indicated that they either would not have made this purchase or that the voucher made a difference in them deciding to purchase an eBike in 2023.

Voucher recipients were also asked to provide testimonials of their experience with the program and the impact that it made on their lives in 2023. Some of the key highlights follow: