In the final stretch of the 192nd legislative session, the Massachusetts Legislature pulled together two key bills that support electric bicycles and rolled them into the transportation bond bill (An Act relative to Massachusetts's transportation resources and climate): definitions for electric bicycles to make them distinct from “motorized bicycles” (ie. gas powered mopeds), and $1M in funding that directs the Department of Energy Resources (DOER) to provide point-of-sale rebates for electric bicycles purchases.

On Wednesday, Governor Baker signed the bill, and these e-bike provisions, into law!

These are two major wins for bicycling in Massachusetts that MassBike has been pursuing over the past two sessions, and we are grateful for all our members and coalition partners who helped elevate these concerns to local legislators and help these priorities get over the finish line. Thank you!

MassBike’s Worcester E-Bike Program officially started rolling this week, with the first participants picking up their new e-bikes. We received over 1,100 applications for the 100 electric pedal-assist bikes we’re distributing for this program, which is funded by the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center’s ACT4All grant. By the end of September, all participants will have received their electric pedal-assist bicycles and will be reporting their e-bike usage to the MassBike team. 

A core element of our Worcester E-Bike program is education. All participants must watch a webinar on bicycling safety before picking up their e-bike. At the distribution events, staff from both MassBike and Landry’s Bicycles guide participants through the process. Landry’s staff make sure the rider receives a properly sized e-bike and explains how to properly use the bicycle. In addition to the bike, all participants are receiving a helmet, lights, lock, and a rain cover to ensure the safety of the riders and their new e-bikes.

After getting their e-bike and accessories, each participant takes the bike out for a test ride with a MassBike staff member and receives some personalized on-bike instruction to ensure they are ready to ride. This process is highly individualized and allows the MassBike team to understand each rider’s concerns.

“Witnessing people from all walks of life getting their e-bikes was emotional and inspiring!” said Alex Salcedo, MassBike’s E-Bike Grant Manager. Alex is managing all of the e-bike participants and hearing first-hand reactions to the e-bikes. One of the participants, while getting ready to receive her e-bike, felt that she could not say ‘thank you’ enough for the opportunity to be part of the E-Bike Program. Another one reported back as soon as he got home and described that his four-mile ride was ‘pretty magical’. The e-biker who received the last e-bike of the two-day deployment said that he never dreamed he’d own an e-bike and now that he has one, his work opportunities will expand considerably and won’t be limited to walking or the bus schedule.