After troubled rollout, California sets new date for e-bike subsidies

Late last year, when the California Air Resources Board finally rolled out public subsidies for an electric-bike program that had long been delayed, the online application window closed within a matter of minutes.

Bicycle enthusiasts who had waited for years for a chance to apply for up to $2,000 to pay for a new e-bike were shut out of any chance to be approved.

Now the Air Resources Board, or CARB, is scheduled to conduct its second round of applications, and potential applicants are worried they will again be shut out of the process.

CARB officials said they learned from the December rollout and changed from a first-come, first-served model to a random drawing for the new voucher disbursement, which begins at 6 p.m. on April 29.

“Randomization allows potential applicants an equal chance at submitting an application and removes some of the technology barriers that applicants experienced in Window 1,” said Joe DeAnda, a CARB spokesperson.

“Applicants only need to be present in the online waiting room,” he said by email.

The statement appears to conflict with what CARB said in December, when another spokesperson said “there were no technical issues” with the rollout.

According to its website, the E-Bike Incentive Project will provide up to 1,000 subsidies of up to $2,000 each — money to buy e-bikes under a state program to protect the environment by reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

“Potential applicants must join the online waiting room between 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. by clicking the APPLY button above,” it states. “All individuals who enter the waiting room by 6 p.m. will be put in random order and have an equal opportunity to access a limited number of applications.”

The e-bike subsidies are managed by a San Diego nonprofit called Pedal Ahead, an entity whose contract with the San Diego Association of Governments was canceled amid myriad deficiencies.

The tax-exempt organization also was sued by former Pedal Ahead manager Rodrigo Rodriguez, who alleged he was fired after raising questions about compliance and other records the organization sent to the state. He said Pedal Ahead officials fabricated documents to help secure more than $10 million in state funding.

CARB has declined to comment on the allegations, citing the ongoing lawsuit.

Anyone interested in applying for the state e-bike subsidy should visit the E-Bike Incentive Project website at ebikeincentives.org and upload tax records and other documents to qualify.