Case study: Shifting gears with e-bike incentives

Summary

The District of Saanich, B.C., wanted to increase electric bike (e-bike) usage in the community to help lower transportation emissions and reach its climate goals. To do so, staff created an income-tiered pilot program, winner of the 2024 Sustainable Communities Awards in the transportation category, that they designed together with external partners to support residents in purchasing e-bikes. The program produced significant results: not only did it reduce emissions, but it helped participants save money in an equitable way, too. The program and its findings have prompted other jurisdictions, including the Province of B.C., to run similar initiatives to incentivize e-bike ownership and use. 

“We wanted to test whether an e-bike incentive program would be effective at reducing GHG emissions from personal transportation while delivering important co-benefits to our community such as increasing healthy activity levels and improving affordability. We found that it did!” 

– Judy Brownoff, Councillor and Sustainability & Climate Action Advisory Committee Chair, District of Saanich 

Background

The District of Saanich on southern Vancouver Island has committed to reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 50 percent by 2030 from their 2007 baseline. The District recognized the high potential of e-bikes to replace car trips and help reduce transportation emissions given their major benefits—for instance, they make it easier to use a bike for long trips, for routes with steep hills and for hauling young children and cargo while also being convenient, affordable and energy-efficient. District staff wanted to explore ways to get more residents using e-bikes for their day-to-day transportation needs and to determine the potential for e-bikes to offset GHG emissions.

The challenge

The challenge for Saanich was threefold:  

• Environmentally, transportation is its largest source of GHG emissions.
• Economically, transportation is one of the top three expenses for the average household in the District.
• Socially, staff were interested in developing climate solutions that centred community equity.

The approach

Saanich developed its incentive pilot program as a tool to support residents in purchasing e-bikes. The first of its kind in the province, the program offered financial incentives of between $350 and $1,600 in three income-based tiers. Residents who were unable to complete the online application at home received additional support in submitting their requests.

Equity was an ongoing key component of the program, as staff gathered data to study its effectiveness and suggest means of improvement. The District partnered with the Greater Victoria Community Social Planning Council and the University of British Columbia’s Research on Active Transportation (REACT) Lab to develop the pilot and measure its impact in detail.  

Results

Saanich’s e-bike incentive program proved to be very popular. The District distributed a total of 389 incentives with at least 100 in each of the three income-based tiers. Of participants, 93 percent were new to e-bikes and 60 percent new to cycling entirely. The pilot received a great deal of media coverage, in part due to its research findings. Some specific results include:

Environmental:

• GHG emissions reduced by 1,569 tCO2e (without marginality) and 765 tCO2e (with marginality adjustment) for the program as a whole.
• Vehicle travel reduced by 3,599,434 km (without marginality) and 1,746,616 km (with marginality adjustment) for the program as a whole. 
• Vehicle kilometres travelled and GHG emissions from vehicles had decreased by an average of 38 percent by the one-year mark. This number was higher for applicants in the lowest income tier. 
• E-bikes were used often to replace vehicle trips. Users in the study rode their e-bikes three to four days per week on average, covering 30 to 70 kilometres per week. Again, this was highest for applicants in the lowest income tier. 
• The program prompted the District to become a drop-off site for recycling e-mobility batteries, reducing the risk of pollution from improper disposal of used batteries.

Economic:

• The reduction in vehicle trips has delivered cost savings for residents. Low-income residents who participated in focus groups said not only that they did not feel financially burdened by their e-bike purchase, but that their e-bike delivered savings when they used it instead of driving or using public transit. 
• Each rebate induced an average of $813 in new consumer spending for bike stores. This translates to $1.31 in spending per $1 in rebates, most of which went to local small businesses.  

“The incentives prompted new climate-friendly behaviours that would not have otherwise occurred.”

– Rebecca Newlove, Manager of Sustainability, District of Saanich

Social:

• Participants received greater enjoyment from their e-bikes than expected, and that satisfaction lasted through the 12 months of the study. 
• Participants increased their outdoor time and physical activity, both of which may contribute toward improved health and connection with nature and their community. 
• The focus on equity and removing income barriers resulted in increased participant diversity on a number of metrics including ethnicity, newcomer to Canada status, disability status, gender and age.

Saanich’s pilot program has also served as a template for other jurisdictions, including the Province of B.C., which ran a highly popular e-bike rebate program in 2023 that was based upon the Saanich pilot.  

Lessons learned

Incentives that overcame cost barriers for lower-income households were found to be more effective at lowering emissions, and they did so in a more cost-effective way.  

Supporting e-bike purchases is only one component of promoting active, low-emission transportation. Land use planning and infrastructure design—such as creating bike lanes that are more accessible—are also important when it comes to boosting e-bike use and meeting climate targets.

Quotes

“The e-bikes were not just a novelty used for fun and recreation. They are heavily replacing car trips, with the largest share of e-bike trips used for commuting to work or school.” 

– Glenys Verhulst, Sustainability Specialist, District of Saanich

“We hope that 10 years from now, most participants will still be getting around by e-bike and encouraging their friends and families to also choose e-bikes for more trips, resulting in widespread e-bike adoption as a climate-friendly, convenient and affordable transportation option.” 

– Mayor Dean Murdock, District of Saanich