Share

Did You Know?

Chicago’s first protected bike lane on Kinzie St. increased ridership by 55 percent without increasing traffic congestion for cars.

Action alert: Help save the e-bike benefit in Congressional budget bill

The U.S. Senate is currently deciding what stays and what gets dropped from the budget bill, and unfortunately, some important biking provisions are on the chopping block.

We need your help to make sure our Senators fight to keep these critical bike components in the bill.

Specifically, the latest draft includes a tax rebate for e-bikes and a bicycle commuter benefit. Both elements would help enable more people to replace car trips with bike trips and reduce our overall carbon footprint.

They will also help make biking more accessible, affordable, and attainable.

In the U.S. House, the e-bike benefit was already weakened significantly relative to the rebate for electric cars. The House legislation includes credits of up to $12,500 for electric cars. Anyone who makes less than $400,000 per year is eligible.

The e-bike credit, on the other hand, is capped at $1,500 and starts phasing out for people who make $75,000 per year.

Now the Senate is considering eliminating it altogether.

The bicycle commuter benefit allows employees to save money tax-free and use it for bike related expenses.

The reconciliation bill is a real opportunity to highlight bicycling as a key component of the climate equity conversation and ensure that biking is accessible to all Americans, regardless of zip code.

Please contact your Senators today to ask them to support stronger e-bike and bike commuter benefits in ongoing negotiations around the budget bill.

 

Special thanks to our partners with the League of American Bicyclists who have been leading the charge on these issues.