California finally got its act together this month, launching an electric bike promotion program yesterday that has been in the works for years. But while this wonderful program was designed to help low-income commuters find a sustainable, independent form of long-distance transportation, it ended in less than an hour and left many people frustrated by its inaccessibility.
The program started its first round with a US$3 million budget, enough for about 1,500 bike vouchers. The application opened on Wednesday night at 6:00 PM, with the widely expected high demand for relatively few vouchers.
But as several citizens of the state immediately complained, even with advanced preparations made before the opening of the application, it is almost impossible to complete the application in time.
Several Electrek students reached out to share their knowledge. Others indicated that they found the online application unresponsive 16 minutes after the application window opened, although in reality, it would have closed much sooner considering the wide demand for the limited number of vouchers.
“I've been an avid cyclist for 30 years, I live on a fixed income (I do a variety of community and non-profit work in my career), and I'm on minimum wage for a graduate degree,” explained one student. .
“I, like many, have been waiting a year or so for California to move on. Tonight is the night. I prepared ahead of time, income verification, driver's license, watched videos, went online an hour before the opening bell, and was automatically put in line. After 45 minutes were up, the application window was closed.”
Organizers say there is another US $4.5 million left, or enough for about 2,300 more vouchers. But there is no confirmation about the details of the upcoming rounds of vouchers, or an indication of when such rounds may be opened.
“I'm glad there's been so much interest, and because of this I hope more people will be cycling on the road. But I have to say, for all its intensity, this 'event' was a bit of a downer and a real downer for me, as I'm sure probably many other worthy people out there. It's just silly to have 1,500 or more vouchers available in an area of 40 million people, putting us all in a lottery that ends almost before it starts.”
Electrek's Take
I want to start by saying that I am incredibly supportive of this program and others like it. Public funds should be used for the benefit of society, and e-bikes have been proven to benefit society in many ways. Not only are they a big leg up on transportation independence and health improvements for bike owners, but they benefit everyone by helping get cars back on the road, reducing traffic, and making an impact on the amount of air pollution in our cities.
However, considering that it took years for California to get this right, it seems that the system left a lot to be desired. I know money doesn't grow on trees, but California is the richest state in the country and has a state budget of over US $300 billion. I think we can find another small change under the sofa cushions to help other people find freedom of transportation. With the huge budget available to California law enforcement, 1,500 of these vouchers sounds like a drop in the bucket.
What makes matters worse is that these programs are often designed in such a way that the fastest fingers win. If you can't fill out the app fast enough in the exact minute and second it opens, you might have a chance to get a mystery voucher. If your fingers aren't as spry as an 18-year-old's, you're in luck. We've seen how Denver's popular program can run out of vouchers in 60 seconds each time a new round opens. Like Electrek a reader pointed to a comment on my last article about California's incentive program, “The wild rush could be avoided if they opened the applications year-round and had a lottery system every X months.” While that doesn't solve the shortage problem, it seems like a better way than the 40 million sprint method on the send button.
There is a lot to like about these programs, and they should be replicated far and wide as they have a far greater impact on many lives than electric car tax rebates. But that doesn't mean there isn't significant room for improvement.
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