Income qualifications:

• If you are interested in applying for an income qualified incentive you must be actively enrolled in one of the following programs:
  • Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP)
  • Women, Infants, and Children (WIC)
  • CalFresh/SNAP (Food Stamps)
  • CalWORKs (TANF) or Tribal TANF
  • Head Start Income Eligible (Tribal Only)
  • Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
  • Medi-Cal for Families (Healthy Families A & B)
  • National School Lunch Program (NSLP)
  • Bureau of Indian Affairs General Assistance
  • Medicaid/Medi-Cal (under age 65)
  • Medicaid/Medi-Cal (age 65 and over)
  • Provide proof of your most recent W-9 form
  • Enrollment in Section 8 for Very Low and Extremely Low Income Classifications
• You can also use proof that you’ve received the state’s voucher to qualify yourself for our income qualified voucher.

Humboldt County has an array of bike shops that sell and maintain E-Bikes. Prior to purchasing your E-Bike, explore these local shops to find the best size and style for you. 

Revolution Bicycles

• Arcata Location & Phone: 1593 G Street, (707) 822-2562
• Eureka Location & Phone: 2811 F Street, (707) 443-9861
• Hours: Monday through Friday, 10am – 6pm, Saturday 10am – 5pm

Pacific Outfitters

• Arcata Location & Phone: 1600 5th Street, (707) 443-6328
• Hours: Monday through Saturday, 10am – 6pm, Sunday, 11am -4pm

Sport & Cycle 

• Fortuna Location & Phone: 475 N Fortuna Blvd, (707) 725-9405
• Hours: Monday through Friday, 9am – 6pm, Saturday, 9am – 5:30 pm, Sunday, 10am – 4pm

N.E.R.D. Scooters 

• McKinleyville Location & Phone: 1590 Nursery Rd Suite 7 & 8, (707) 633-8832
• Hours: Tuesday through Saturday, 11am – 6pm

Adventure’s Edge

• Arcata Location & Phone: 650 10th Street, (707) 822-4673
• Eureka Location & Phone: 125 W 5th Street, (707) 445-1711
• Hours: Monday through Saturday, 9am – 6pm, Sunday 10am – 5pm

Moon Cycles

• Moon Cycles is a community hub for a variety of bicycle services including general E-Bike maintenance. 
• Arcata Location & Phone: 1905 Alliance Rd, Arcata, CA 95521, (707) 408-8181
• Hours: Wednesday through Sunday, 10am – 6pm

The RCEA E-Bike Voucher program is designed to help consumers purchase an E-Bike that will be durable, readily repairable, and have a long useful life. Although the RCEA program is not supporting E-Bikes purchased directly from the internet at this time, we are hopeful that this incentive will help many people in Humboldt County purchase an E-Bike that they will get years of use and enjoyment from.

Here are some key reasons the RCEA E-Bike Voucher program requires purchase from a local brick-and-mortar shop:

Supports E-Bike makes/models that can be repaired and maintained locally

• Early E-Bike use was shown to decline after 3-9 months due to durability issues primarily attributed to E-Bikes purchased online and E-Bikes sold at “big box” stores.
• Local Bike shops repair and maintain the bikes they sell, and therefore work with E-Bike companies that can provide durable E-Bike designs, durable components, technical support and diagnostic tools, and readily available replacement parts.
• By contrast, when an E-Bike is purchased online there is no responsibility on the part of the company to provide service, repairs, or technical assistance to bike shop mechanics.
  • Some online retailers claim to have remote repair support, but this arrangement has not proved to be available in most locations leaving customers reliant on local bike shop mechanics.
  • Interviews with local bike shop mechanics indicated that many of the E-Bikes purchased online or from box stores simply could not be repaired or cost more to repair than the purchase price due to poor quality designs, lack of available replacement parts, and lack of technical support.
• While E-Bikes for sale on the internet may appear to be a lower-cost option as compared to brick-and-mortar stores, the “cost of ownership” is often much higher. This is due to the more frequent repairs required on inexpensive E-Bikes that are made with less durable components and the time required to diagnose the problem (often without adequate technical support) and source replacement parts for the repair.

Customer Service 

• Bike shops have a local in-person presence that can address E-Bike issues immediately whereas the internet E-Bike retailers do not have a local presence and their customer service can be difficult to navigate.
• Bike shops can help consumers select the correct size and style of E-Bikes fort their needs.

Quality

• Local bike shops have a responsibility to provide maintenance for the products they sell; therefore, they sell products they can stand behind.

Safety 

• Local bike shops provide customer training on E-Bike use and safe battery charging.
• Bike shops provide professional E-Bike assemble to ensure proper function and safety.
• Bike shops sell E-Bikes with UL listed batteries.
  • Many E-Bikes sold online do not use UL listed batteries. These non-rated batteries are the cause of uncontrolled battery fires presenting serious safety hazards.

CARB E-Bike Incentive Program

The California Air Resources Board (CARB) will be offering a voucher program of its own this year. This program will be for low-income residents only. Applicants will be eligible for the following incentives:

• A $1,000 standard voucher amount for income-qualified participants
• An additional $750 for cargo and adaptive bikes
• An income qualified voucher of $1,250 for applicants living in low-income communities

The voucher can be stacked (combined) with RCEA’s voucher. If you wish to get the full stacked incentive amount you must wait until the state launches their program to purchase your E-Bike. Vouchers can not be applied after the point of sale.

Here are some key details on the program:

• Applications will be processed on a first-come, first-served basis
• Approved applications will receive a Voucher via email
• E-bikes must be new
• Must have integrated front and rear lights
• Must be fully assembled
• Minimum 1-year warranty on all electrical components
• Non-eligible E-Bikes: Used E-bikes, conversion kits, full-suspension E-Bikes, scooters, mopeds

To find out more about CARB’s program and to check your eligibility click the button below.

The following types of E-Bikes are eligible for RCEA’s Voucher Program: 

• Non-sport model E-Bikes of all classes (I – III) including Cargo E-Bikes, trikes, and adaptive E-Bikes. Offroad or mountain E-Bikes are not eligible;
• E-Bikes must have operable pedals;
• E-Bikes must have UL-listed batteries, chargers, and drivetrains;
• E-Bikes must have standard sized wheels that accommodate standard sized innertubes.
• E-Bikes must have a 1-year manufacturer’s warranty (or longer); and
• E-Bikes must be serviceable by the Vendor making the sale.

Here at RCEA we understand that the public has been waiting anxiously for the E-Bike Voucher program to launch. As a result, we’ve decided to launch our Voucher program while we continue to wait for the state’s program to give customers the choice to redeem our voucher before the state releases their voucher if they would like.

Unfortunately, no. If you would like to get the benefits from both our voucher and the state’s voucher you must wait until the state launches their program. If you purchase your bike prior to their launch using our voucher, you will no longer be eligible for the state’s voucher for that particular E-Bike.

This depends on your personal preference. To see what you can get from both the state and our program, see the table below. Note that the state’s program is only available for income qualified applicants.

The California E-Bike Incentive Project is expected to launch in the second quarter of 2024. CARB is working closely with the program administrator, Pedal Ahead, to develop and finalize the application process and to ensure all systems are ready for the highly anticipated program launch.

No. Vouchers can only be applied at the point of sale.

No, RCEA’s voucher can only be applied to E-Bike purchases from one of our participating bike shops.

Yes. Mountain E-Bikes, used e-bikes, scooters/mopeds, E-Bike conversion kits, E-Bikes with non-UL listed or UL equivalent batteries, and any E-Bikes outside of the three (3) class system are ineligible. All participating retailers have a list of all E-Bikes that are eligible for the RCEA voucher program.

There is no price range for E-Bikes. As long as the E-Bike is on our list of qualified makes and models, they are eligible for our voucher, regardless of the price.

All you will need to have with you is your RCEA voucher and a valid form of ID. Also be prepared to pay for the remaining cost of the E-Bike that is not covered by the voucher.

You must be enrolled in one of the programs listed in the “income qualifications” section found on this webpage. Receipt of the state’s voucher also automatically qualifies the recipient for a RCEA income qualified voucher. More information can be found in our program’s Terms and Conditions above.

RCEA has allocated $50,000 for this program for the current fiscal year. The City of Arcata has contributed an additional $20,000 to this program for Arcata residents only. E-Bike Voucher program funding may be renewed in the next funding cycle.

Application processing times will vary based on available staff time and number of applicants. However, processing time should not take longer than 30 days.

Voucher expiration dates depend on the type of voucher received. Standard Voucher Recipients will have 30 days from the voucher reward date to complete an E-Bike purchase. Income Qualified Voucher recipients will 90 days from the voucher award date to complete an E-Bike purchase. Adaptive E-Bike Voucher Recipients will have up to 6 months from the voucher reward date to complete the E-Bike purchase.