The Benefits Boulder County Discount Program is back to incentivize the community with discounts on electric bikes.
Full Cycle bike shop in Boulder and Small Planet E Bikes in Longmont are participating by offering a discount on electric bikes until Sept. 30. The discount is 25 percent off at Full Cycle and 10 to 20 percent off at Small Planet E Bikes, depending on the make and model.
In its second year, the seasonal program was started by Boulder County Sustainability Outreach Specialist Brad Smith.
“When we brainstormed about this program, the biggest impetus for us creating this was lowering greenhouse gas emissions,” he said. “How do we get people out of gas cars and into electric cars for other programs, and for this program in general, out of cars and onto bikes?”
Full Cycle and Small Planet E Bikes are both participating in the program for the second year in a row and have noticed an increase in electric bike sales.
“In just two weeks, we’ve sold 20 e-bikes, which is more than we sold all last year,” said Full Cycle managing owner Russell Chandler. “Last year, we went from not having e-bikes at all, to selling over a three-month period about 20 bikes, and we just massed that in the first two weeks of the program this year.”
Small Planet E Bikes, which only sells electric bicycles, is seeing how it can work e-bikes into becoming a major transportation mode for a lot of people.
“There is a lot of motivation in Boulder County, because a lot of people live in hilly areas,” said Sherri O’Hara, Small Planet E Bikes store manager. “And those people would like to bike more but because of the hills, it’s a barrier for them, or too long of a distance, but with an e-bike it allows people to discover what a great option it is for mobility.”
The Benefits Boulder County Discount Program works to provide the community benefits, while also helping with the adoption of new technologies.
“This model was created a couple of years ago. Originally, it was solar, but the idea behind it is, Boulder County, as a local government, has a lot of residents who live here, so how can we leverage their buying power to get them benefits such as discounts on various technology?” Smith said. “We have worked with rooftop solar, electric vehicles and now electric bikes. And what we have seen, in addition to the great deals going on, there’s also a lot of education and awareness happening.”
Electric bikes allow for a faster and easier commute, according to Chandler.
“I came from my house 4 miles away, rode 25 miles an hour, straight down Broadway, and I got here in 10 minutes, parked the e-bike and went to work. Didn’t have to deal with parking,” he said.
Smith has also found electric bikes bring people together.
“A fun example we have seen in the cycling world is bringing families together in a way, because perhaps one partner likes to ride a lot, whereas the other is more of a casual rider and you put the more casual rider on an e-bike, and all of sudden you’ve got folks riding together again after years of not,” he said.
“Then you throw in cargo bikes and carrying groceries, it’s able to replace a car in some capacities, mostly for around town type work and commuting. But I’ve even seen people carrying two kids on the back of a cargo bike and that’s been fun to watch.”
