Minnesota’s e-bike rebate program generated overwhelming demand, with rebate recipients spanning all across the state. Despite some challenges, the state plans to carry over funding and revamp the program for 2025.

December 17, 2024 | by Molly Stroh

A Schwinn e-bike at a Minneapolis bike shop. (Photo credit: Molly Stroh)

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MINNEAPOLIS, Minn — On the morning of June 5, Minneapolis resident Julie Hanus eagerly logged on to the Department of Revenue’s electric bike rebate website to apply for a rebate and save hundreds of dollars on the e-bike she had dreamed of owning.

She wished it were that easy.

Instead, she was put into an online queue and had to stare at a little bike icon, watching as her wait time to apply counted down.

She never got into the website. She never got the rebate. And she never got the bike.

After thirty minutes, the webpage refreshed to announce that all the rebates had been claimed, leaving Hanus disappointed and pushing her dream of an e-bike purchase back to “someday.”

Hanus was not alone. The popularity of the program made it seem as though all the rebates had been issued. But the state distributed $600k short of the expected rollout for 2024, at $1.4 million.

Over 1,500 rebates were issued, but some went unused and expired, making the program short of the expected funding for the year. This leftover funding will carry over into the 2025 return of the program, which Ryan Brown, spokesman for the Minnesota Department of Revenue, anticipates will result in “a higher number of rebates.”

Pedaling through the process

The e-bike rebates, introduced as part of the 2023 Transportation Omnibus Bill, were designed to encourage sustainable transportation.

High demand from customers prompted the state to shut down the initial e-bike application process, said Brown. The state relaunched the program a month later with new guardrails to ensure the system wouldn’t be overwhelmed.

Brown described that the application acceptance process worked on a first-come, first-served basis for Minnesota residents, awarding up to $1,500 towards an e-bike purchase.

The only stipulation was that the legislation reserved 40% of rebate certificates for married taxpayers filing a joint return with an adjusted gross income of less than $78,000 or any filer earning less than $41,000.

“So, once we got a pool of around 12,000 applications, we proceeded to review and process the applications in the order they were received,” Brown said.

The state sent out rebates to eligible participants who could then get the discount directly at participating bike stores.

Josh Klauk, owner of Angry Catfish Bike Shop in South Minneapolis described the process as “a little bit clunky,” since the customer immediately gets the discount but he has to wait a few weeks for reimbursement from the state.

He was impressed by the influx of customers the program brought to his business, despite the clunky process.

“We believe we had substantially more people coming through the door with the intent to buy, and many folks that did end up purchasing an e-bike from us,” said Klauk. “I would say that this has definitely improved sales overall.”

Rebates roll out across Minnesota

People in 67 of the state’s 87 counties received a rebate.

The largest share went to Hennepin and Ramsey counties, which collectively received nearly half of the total rebates.

While urban areas like the Twin Cities received the bulk of the rebates, rural communities also showed enthusiasm for the program. Cook County on the North Shore received the most amount of rebates per capita— two for every 10,000 people. Adding to this, 183 recipients came from towns with populations of less than 5,000, and 52 came from communities with fewer than 1,000 residents.

This reflected the state’s goal – to make e-bikes accessible to residents across the state.

South Minneapolis spins ahead

Minneapolis residents redeemed 304 rebates, the highest concentration in the state.

One out of every four rebate recipients in the city came from the neighborhoods of Cooper, Longfellow, and Howe in South Minneapolis. These neighborhoods are mostly white, middle class areas, according to Minneapolis DataSource.

Holding out hope for Hanus

While the initial rollout was a success in terms of interest, the state is revamping the program with lessons learned from the 2024 website crash, according to Brown.

“We know the e-bike rebates were very popular and with a limited amount of funding, there were always going to be more disappointed people who didn’t get one than thrilled people who did,” said Brown.

Brown says he’s optimistic that next year’s revamp and roll over funding will help more Minnesotans buy an e-bike. This means that for Hanus and others that missed out this year, there’s still hope.

Perhaps next year, Hanus’ “someday” can become a reality.

For those who missed out on the rebate…

The Department Of Revenue plans to open the rebate application window for 2025 in early summer. Those interested can subscribe for email alerts to stay updated on the next round of funding.