E-bikes and bike buses win big in latest round of PCEF grants

Local nonprofits wanting to provide electric bikes to their communities won big in the latest round of Portland Clean Energy Community Benefits Fund (PCEF) grants announced last week. A total of $64.4 million was awarded through the PCEF Community Grants program. Among the 60 grants, 12 of them totaling just over $8 million were in the Transportation Decarbonization category. Funds from five of the grants will be used to purchase e-bikes. A project to strengthen local bike buses won the other award.

Organizations who won bike-related grants include: Bike Bus PDX, The Street Trust, Community Cycling Center, Ethiopian and Eritrean Cultural and Resource Center, P:ear, and Oregon Health and Science University.

PCEF is powered by a 1% “clean energy surcharge” on the retail sales of large retailers in Portland. Businesses with $1 billion in national sales and $500,000 or more in local retail sales pay into the fund. It was passed by Portland voters in November 2018.

This is the fourth round of PCEF Community Grants, which are managed by the Portland Bureau of Planning and Sustainability (BPS). On their website, BPS says, “The approved projects offer PCEF priority communities healthier homes, lower utility bills, job training and living-wage opportunities, better access to fresh food, and stronger community connections. The estimated lifetime reduction in greenhouse gas emissions for projects (not including regenerative agriculture) is estimated to be roughly 76,204 metric tons CO2e.”

Below is a list of grant winners with project summaries taken from the BPS report:

Community Cycling Center: Cycling Basics for Priority Populations
Amount awarded: $459,826 – Length of grant: 3 years

This project seeks to support the empowerment of new cyclists from PCEF priority populations by leveraging strong community engagement skills to provide positive initial on-bike experiences that will inspire people to take the next step. The proposal strives to impact up to 1,424 participants, including 386 adults and 1,038 youth from PCEF priority populations. Key milestones include hiring two seasonal Bike Camp instructors, facilitating summer youth Bike Camps, Learn to Ride Clinics, group bike rides in partnership at no cost to participants, and distributing 120 bikes with accompanying accessories to Bike Camp participants. Major goals include getting new bicyclists on the streets while ensuring meaningful engagement for priority populations with little to no prior connection to cycling.

Ethiopian and Eritrean Cultural and Resource Center: Eco-Transport Access & Education Project
Amount awarded: $658,145 – Length of grant: 4 years

This project aims to implement a green transportation access and education initiative to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and advance environmental equity for PCEF priority populations by distributing 100 e-bikes, providing education on clean transportation for more than 200 residents, and more. Key milestones include distributing 100 electric bikes, providing bike safety and maintenance workshops, delivering education on green transportation in multiple languages, and promoting awareness of electric vehicle (EV) infrastructure. Major project goals include achieving an estimated $65,000 to $100,000 in total annual savings for the 100 e-bike users, lowering transportation-related emissions, and building long-term climate resilience through targeted community engagement.

P:ear: Empowering Sustainable Mobility: Expanding E-Bike Access and Infrastructure in East Portland
Amount awarded: $1,837,403 – Length of grant: 5 years

The project aims to deliver a comprehensive, community-centered approach to transportation decarbonization, including a retrofit of the grantee’s shop for e-bike maintenance. Key milestones include acquiring specialized tools, hiring a dedicated mechanic, expanding the Pedal It Forward slidingscale repair program, deploying a fleet of e-bikes for hands-on education, purchasing an electric cargo van, providing mobile repair services in PCEF priority population neighborhoods, hosting 9 multilingual e-bike education courses, offering 4 bike camp and pop-up maintenance events, and holding 7 learn-toride and community bike rides. The major goals include reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, improving air quality, and expanding affordable, low-carbon mobility options for East Portland residents from priority populations by combining infrastructure upgrades, mobile maintenance, and robust community outreach.

The Street Trust: Ride 2 Own Ebikes for East Portland Disadvantaged Youth
Amount awarded: $253,743 – Length of grant: 1 year

The project seeks to expand the grantee’s Ride2Own e-bike ownership program to provide 25 youth from the Parkrose community, ages 14 and up, with free Class 1 e-bikes, safety gear, and training. The project also proposes a collaboration with Portland State University’s Transportation Research and Education Center, which will collect data on greenhouse gas reductions, mode shifts, and economic benefits for youth who might otherwise become auto-dependent adults. Key milestones include providing participants with training on bike handling, safety, and maintenance; offering opportunities to take part in community rides and peer-to-peer engagement; delivering 25 youth free e-bikes along with safety gear, maintenance, and education to support independent, low-carbon mobility. The major goals include building transportation confidence, reducing car dependency, and improving access to school, work, and community for youth from PCEF priority populations.

Bike Bus PDX: Expanding and Evaluating Bike Buses
Amount awarded: $895,000 – Length of grant: 5 years

The project aims to support bike bus programs at several schools, engaging nearly thousands of students. As part of the proposed project, Portland State University’s Transportation Research and Education Center (PSU TREC) will conduct assessments to measure the impact of bike buses on transportation habits and carry out a longitudinal study following first graders to track their travel behavior beyond elementary school. Key milestones include developing a ‘Bike Bus Toolkit’ to help establish new bike buses, hosting bike fairs to distribute hundreds of bikes, promoting the benefits of bike buses and active transportation, and hiring “Bike Bus Cluster Coordinators” and “Bike Bus Champions” to support education, outreach, and promotion efforts. The major goal of the project is to replace more than half a million miles in car trips to school.

Oregon Health and Science University: E-bike Loaner Program Expansion
Amount awarded: $662,563 – Length of grant: 5 years

This project aims to expand OHSU’s e-bike loaner program to encourage more employees to commute by bike rather than by car, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and improving personal and community health. The program will add 50 new e-bikes to the fleet, hire a part-time coordinator, and enhance outreach and education to increase participation across diverse employee groups. Key milestones include purchasing and outfitting new e-bikes, scheduling educational workshops in partnership with local bike organizations, and launching participant recruitment and data tracking to assess program outcomes. The project will also refine auditing tools to measure participation among PCEF priority populations and document environmental impact. Major goals include promoting long-term behavior change, improving access to sustainable transportation, and supporting a healthier, more accessible campus community.

In a statement from BPS, PCEF Program Manager Sam Baraso said, “Together, these community-led projects demonstrate the power of collective action to advance the City’s climate goals while creating lasting benefits for Portland’s communities.”