PGE grants will stoke e-bike boom in Portland

A grant program from Portland General Electric will fund the purchase of electric bikes for two local organizations and help subsidize access to the Biketown bike share system. The PGE Drive Change Fund announced $2.3 million in awards today and among the 12 winners were the Community Cycling Center, the Portland State University Bike Hub, and the City of Portland Bureau of Transportation.

Here’s the official blurb on each award:

Community Cycling Center, Portland – $50,000
…CCC will use this funding to purchase four e-bicycles that will help expand the reach of programs while also decreasing car travel for internal needs. Initially, the bikes will support a COVID response food pantry delivery by bike program, and in the long term will support educational and community events and outreach and general internal trips between the shops and warehouses. CCC will also use this funding to train their mechanics to maintain the e-bikes, which would also expand their capacity to provide e-bike service to customers.

Portland Bureau of Transportation, Portland – $130,000
… BIKETOWN will grow to 3,000 e-bikes with a larger service area by 2024. BIKETOWN has two equity programs: Adaptive BIKETOWN provides bicycle access for people with disabilities; and BIKETOWN for All provides discounted memberships and fares for people living on low incomes. PBOT will use the PGE Drive Change grant to further reduce financial barriers, providing free ride credits for an average year of BIKETOWN use. The Drive Change funds will also provide discounts for young riders – BIKETOWN recently lowered the minimum rider age to 16 to introduce more teens to the benefits of bike sharing.

Portland State University, Portland – $36,000
The Portland State University (PSU) Bike Hub is a full-service retail bike shop on campus, opened in 2010. The shop offers long term bike rental through its “Vike Bike” program, a fleet of over 140 bikes offered at low cost (or no cost based on need). The program’s existing fleet was assembled by collecting and refurbishing abandoned bikes on campus and made available to students for long-term rentals. PSU will use this funding to purchase 25 Batch Bicycles e-bikes, to supplement the rental fleet and provide greater access to those living further from campus or those with physical barriers to cycling, and serve as a pilot program toward the eventual full replacement of the rental fleet with e-bikes.

— Jonathan Maus: (503) 706-8804, @jonathan_maus on Twitter and jonathan@bikeportland.org
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