Regarding your March 12 article, “Ava’s $3.1M E-bike Push Focuses On Reducing Area Vehicle Gas Emissions”:
Bike East Bay is a supporter of e-bike rebate programs such as the one provided by Ava Community Energy mentioned in your article, as it increases access to electric bicycles as a clean and affordable transportation option. Through this program, individuals are required to purchase their e-bike from a local shop. This gives a boost to these businesses while establishing a relationship with the customer for ongoing service to keep the bike running smoothly and safely.
Most of the concerns we are hearing from folks around the East Bay are about illegal e-moto devices, which are not street legal. These devices are not e-bikes, as they exceed California’s speed and power limits. Assemblymember Bauer-Kahan’s proposed licensing bill will put more restrictions on legal e-bikes, but it won’t address continuing issues with e-motos.
Instead, we would love to see support from the Assemblymember’s office for increased funding support for Ava’s very popular e-bike rebate program, helping to get more legal e-bikes on our streets while cutting down on the number of illegal e-motos.
