Raleigh Council accepts $80,000 Bloomberg grant to expand e-bike rebates, approves budget amendment

Raleigh City Council on Tuesday authorized the city manager to execute grant documents and approved a budget amendment to add $80,000 in private funding from Bloomberg Philanthropies to the city’s existing e-bike rebate program.

The additional funding will be added to the voucher pool, which staff estimate will produce roughly 60–80 additional vouchers once the money is appropriated. "This non federal funding... will be allocated towards additional vouchers in the applicant pool," said Mason Chamblee, Transportation Transit, who presented the program to the council.

The program began with $150,000 in initial funding from the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant administered by the U.S. Department of Energy. That seed funding underwrote 75 income-qualified vouchers (valued at $1,500 each) and 75 standard vouchers (valued at $500 each). Chamblee described the eligibility rules: income-qualified vouchers are for permanent Raleigh residents 18 or older with household income at or below 80% of area median income (about $68,000 for a one-person household); standard vouchers are available to any permanent Raleigh resident 18 or older.

Chamblee explained program mechanics and uptake to date: vouchers were released in three staggered batches of 50, on Dec. 4, Dec. 30 and Jan. 13, with recipients notified by email or text at award, 30 days and 10 days before expiration. "As of February 3, we have a total of 65 vouchers that have been utilized, 52 in the income qualified grouping, and then 13 in the standard grouping," Chamblee said. He said the city extended redemption deadlines (from 60 days to 90 days) because redemption rates were slower than expected and third‑party technology will reassign forfeited vouchers to qualified applicants.

Council members asked about redemption behavior, demographic tracking and program evaluation. Councilor Pat asked whether staff had feedback from applicants who did not redeem vouchers; Chamblee said the city will survey both redeemers and nonredeemers after the final deadlines to learn why vouchers were not used. Councilor Jones asked whether the new Bloomberg funds would require a new application; Chamblee replied the city will draw additional winners from the existing qualified applicant pool (about 1,300 qualified applicants), not open a new application round.

Councilor Lambert Melton moved the motion to accept the grant and authorize the budget amendment; the motion was seconded and approved by the council. Councilors asked staff to report back with follow‑up evaluation data on usage and demographics in the coming months.

The council’s action lets staff add the Bloomberg funds to the program and continue redemption outreach; Chamblee said staff will provide 3– to 6‑month follow‑up evaluation data on how recipients use the e‑bikes and will share a more detailed breakdown of redeemed bike classes (class 1, 2, 3) with council upon request.

Background: Chamblee reviewed common e‑bike classifications for the council (class 1 = pedal assist to 20 mph, class 2 = throttle up to 20 mph, class 3 = pedal assist to 28 mph), approximate retail pricing for entry models ($1,200–$1,300 locally for class 1), and the program’s initial purchasing restrictions (voucher funds cannot be used to pay sales tax).