BANFF – Banff’s e-bike rebate program is riding high.
In 2023, the Town of Banff allocated a record $95,000 in visitor paid parking revenues for e-bike rebates for residents and businesses.
Darren Enns, director of planning and environment, said the municipality provided 186 e-bike rebates last year, including 176 for residents and 10 for commercial entities.
“This is a really effective and visible way of how we empower our residents to make environmentally beneficial decisions,” he said.
“It’s been a massive success in terms of uptake.”
In 2022, rebates were granted for 117 e-bikes, 110 of which were residential and seven for businesses.
Mayor Corrie DiManno said she was delighted to see the e-bike program still going strong.
“This is just so very cool and very rewarding,” she said.
“Anecdotally, I see folks riding on bikes that I’ve never seen on a bike, let alone an e-bike, and that is such an encouraging sign of people wanting to shift the way that they commute and that this has been a way for them to do it.”
When the e-bike rebate program was initially launched, council approved $40,000 budgets for 2022 and 2023, funded from the visitor paid parking reserve.
The first round of the program, launched in March 2022, was fully subscribed in 15 days with rebates issued to 59 residents.
An additional $40,000 was approved for a second round of rebates in April 2022, which was fully subscribed within five days. Rebates were handed out to an additional 51 residents, and five businesses.
With no budget cap on any of the municipality’s other environmental rebate offerings, including the solar PV incentive program, the budget cap for e-bikes was eventually removed.
To be eligible, bikes must have operable pedals and comply with current provincial regulations, including maximum power of 500 W, and maximum speed of 32 km/h.
Bicycles with a pre-tax purchase price over $5,000 are not eligible, though exceptions may be granted to residents with special needs, at the Town of Banff’s discretion.
The amounts are as follows: Lesser of 50 per cent of $500 for Banff residents; lesser of 50 per cent of $750 for Banff Access tier 2 members; or lesser of 50 per cent of $1,000 for Banff Access tier 1 members.
