Paris wants to give €500 subsidies for e-bikes

The Île-de-France transport authority plans to offer citizens €500 to buy an e-bike in 2020. A growing number of local and national governments are following this model to make green transportation a cheaper option.

Starting from February 2020, the 10 million residents of Paris and its surroundings may have access to up to €500 in financial aid to put towards the purchase of an electric bicycle.

Valerie Pecresse, president of the regional transport agency Île-de-France Mobilités, told Le Parisien in an exclusive interview that she has submitted a proposal to provide a subsidy for half the cost of an e-bike — capped at €500 — to all residents of Île-de-France, the region surrounding Paris, “regardless of their economic situation.”

A good e-bike can cost, on average, up to €2,000.

The offer would start in February and is timed to begin as the regions “Veligo” e-bike test program wraps up. Starting from September, the Veligo program allows residents to rent e-bikes long-term — for up to 6 months — at a rate of €40 a month, half of which can be covered by one’s employer. Paris already runs a similar program, called Velib, on the municipal level.

The program will release 10,000 e-bikes into the greater Paris area, with plans to double the number. This would make it the world’s largest e-bike rental program.

Via DW