Plagued by glitches last year, the state of Minnesota’s e-bike rebate program is back for its final year with a random lottery and parameters to award more people with less income.
Here are the program’s basics:
What has changed from year one?
Legislators altered the two-year rebate program in three significant ways last session.
- Regarding income, qualified applicants now must have adjusted gross incomes less than $78,000 (married filers); $62,000 (head of household); or $41,000 (single). Some people with disabilities also qualify to sign up. They’ll have to provide information about their disability status.
- The rebate will cover 75 percent, or up to $750, of the cost of a new e-bike or qualifying expenses.
- A random lottery process will determine who wins rebate certificates to use at state-approved bike sellers.
How do people sign up?
The public can register online, starting at 11 a.m. July 30 through 2 p.m. Aug. 7. The Department of Revenue, which manages the program, will post a link on its e-bike rebate webpage when registration opens. People can enroll on the rebate page for emailed updates.
Notified about rebates
Applicants will learn their status within two weeks after the end of registration. People will be selected, denied, or placed on a waitlist for possible rebate certificates. Certificate-winners have two months to use their rebates.
Only legal bikes allowed
The rebate certificates only can go toward e-bikes that are considered legal in Minnesota. Statutes say the bike cannot have an electric motor that produces more than 750 watts of power. Like in other states where e-bike use is increasing, some Minnesotans are buying e-bikes that are technically illegal. Some trail managers have prohibited throttled bikes from their trail networks.
Changes after last year’s problems
Last year’s program was first-come, first-served. The flood of interest contributed to crashing the revenue department’s platform within minutes of it going live last June. The system didn’t reopen until early July. When it did, the program hit its 10,000-applicant cap within 20 minutes.
The state awarded 1,519 rebate vouchers, including a second round in the fall; 1,335 were redeemed with an average value just less than $1,339, according to the revenue department.
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