Ava Bike Electric is an incentive program that aims to increase access to e-bikes, reduce carbon emissions, and support local businesses. Alameda County residents can enter a monthly drawing for an instant rebate of $400 to $1,500 off a new e-bike, with higher amounts for income-qualified households, from 25+ local bike shops.
***Call to action***
Ava staff are bringing a proposal to the July 15 Ava Board of Directors meeting to request an extension of the Bike Electric program through December 2027.
Sign the petition in support of this proposal by July 15.
E-bikes are changing the landscape of transportation in the East Bay, making trips by bike possible for people with limited mobility, families, older adults, people who live in the hills, people who carry cargo, and many others. Having an incentive program available for Alameda County residents has led to thousands more people choosing bike trips over cars. Extending the incentive program is essential to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and making transportation easy and affordable for more community members.
Why the Program is Important
Ava is a leader in e-bike incentive programs, outperforming others in the state, and has consistently worked with community partners and stakeholders to make their Bike Electric program accessible and affordable while incentivizing high-quality e-bikes from local bike shops.
- Quality and Safety First: The program is only offered through local bike shops that Ava vets and only applies to high-quality brands and models of e-bikes. This ensures that participants are purchasing e-bikes that are legal, without safety issues, and are repairable by local bike shops. This isn’t the case for many of the e-bikes purchased from online retailers or big box stores, leading to these e-bikes falling into disrepair and going unused.
- Transportation Equity: For-income qualified participants, Ava offers higher incentive amounts that can fully or mostly cover the cost of many of the e-bikes in their program, ensuring participants don’t purchase low-quality e-bikes with potential safety issues that fall into disrepair and go unused.
- A Lifeline for Local Bike Shops: Bike shops have been hurting since the bike boom during the COVID pandemic slowed. Many shops have closed or had to make steep staffing cuts. The Ava bike electric program has brought thousands of new customers to these local shops, helping to stabilize their business and provide local green jobs.
Keep E-bikes Accessible!
Sign the petition below to join Bike East Bay in asking the Ava Community Energy Board of Directors to extend the highly successful Ava Bike Electric program through December 2027.
E-bikes are changing the landscape of transportation in the East Bay, making trips by bike possible for people with limited mobility, families, older adults, people who live in the hills, people who carry cargo, and many others. Having an incentive program available for Alameda County residents has led to thousands more people choosing bike trips over cars. Extending the incentive program is essential to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and making transportation easy and affordable for more community members.
Next Steps
The more voices the Ava Community Energy Board of Directors hears from, especially people who have personally used and benefitted from the program, the more likely they are to approve the program extension.
Please consider also sending in a written public comment ahead of the meeting or attending the board meeting in-person or virtually to give your personal testimonial of how the Ava Bike Electric program has positively benefitted you and asking the Board to extend the program.
Send a written public comment:
Send an email to cob@avaenergy.org
- Include in the subject line “Ava Bike Electric Program Extension”
- Address your email to Ava Board of Directors
- The most persuasive public comment is to simply share your personal story of how the program has impacted you or how an extension of the program could impact you. You can also include some or all of the following points:
Talking Points
The most persuasive public comment is to simply share your personal story of how the program has impacted you or how an extension of the program could impact you. You can also include some or all of the following points:
- Personal transportation is the largest emitter of greenhouse gas emissions in California and e-bikes are a 98% cleaner alternative to driving.
- E-bikes make trips by bike possible for people with limited mobility, families, older adults, people who live in the hills, people who carry cargo, and many others.
- Over 26,000 people have applied for the Ava Bike Electric program, there’s clearly a huge demand and need.
- With the State of California CARB e-bike incentive program shut down, Ava Bike Electric is the primary e-bike incentive program available for Alameda County residents.
- This program makes high-quality e-bikes affordable and accessible for everyone, especially those who are income qualified.
- This program has provided a lifeline for many struggling local bike shops, bringing them thousands of new customers.
- This program is a gold standard for incentivizing high-quality e-bikes from local bike shops, ensuring participants don’t purchase low-quality e-bikes with potential safety issues that fall into disrepair and go unused.
Attend the board meeting:
July 15, 2026 @ 6:00pm, members of the public can join in-person, via Zoom or by telephone.
Join in person
Board Room
Ava Community Energy
1999 Harrison Street, Suite 2300
Oakland, CA 94612
Join via Zoom
Use this link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87023071843
Join via Phone
Dial (for higher quality, dial a number based on your current location):
US Options:
- +1 669 900 6833 or
- +1 346 248 7799 or
- +1 253 215 8782 or
- +1 929 205 6099 or
- +1 301 715 8592 or
- +1 312 626 6799 or
- 888 475 4499 (Toll Free) or
- 877 853 5257 (Toll Free)
Webinar ID: 870 2307 1843
Tips on Giving Public Conment
Before you arrive:
- Prepare your comment in advance – writing it down and reading it aloud is fine
- Each commenter is usually limited to between 1 to 2 minutes – the chair member will decide at the meeting
- Time yourself giving your comment to make sure you can stay within the limit
- Consider preparing multiple versions of your comment, with both a 1 minute version and a 2 minute version
When your arrive:
- Take an agenda and find your item number
- Fill out a comment card and give it to the City Clerk
- Find your friends and get comfortable while you wait
- Listen for your agenda item, and be ready to go when you name is called
Agenda items usually follow this order:
- Staff presentation
- Board/Council Member questions
- Public comments (that’s you)
- Member discussion
- Vote
Structuring your comment:
Your comment should follow this order, so who you represent and your main request is communicated even if you run out of time:
- Introduce yourself (name, city, affiliations)
- State your position (“I support extending the Ava Bike Electric program”)
- Share your story
- Connect to the issue at hand
- Make a request (“Please vote to extend the Ava Bike Electric program”)
Final advice:
- Stay positive – don’t engage in attacks on elected officials, staff, or other meeting participants
- Don’t respond to other commenters, stick to your own points
- Don’t compromise proactively, advocate only for your preferred outcome
- Keep it simple & short, you don’t have to fill the full amount of time given
Similar to the written public comment above, sharing your personal story is most persuasive and you can also use our suggested talking points above.
You can do one or both of these actions, speaking up in support of this program can have a huge impact.
Looking for more information on e-bikes? Check out our new E-Bike Landing Page!