Sy Reene

Interesting, but unfortunately would only be for e-bike purchases. Nothing for the even-greener non-electrics?

https://www.bicycleretailer.com/indu...e#.YCP_X2hKjb0

Troul 

not going to be good for the mups...
waiting on the tax incentive to consume more junk food.

Phil_gretz

Wait for all of the battery failures and batteries thrown into landfills. Yay! Help me to understand why this segment requires Gov't assistance to modulate demand.

Troul 

If the battery is classed correctly...
https://www.newsbreak.com/news/15444...s-in-the-ocean

Koyote

What a ridiculous proposal. Ridiculous on so many levels. I'm guessing that both of the bill's sponsors have major bike manufacturers in their districts.

WhyFi

I'd assume that they'd like to target alternative transportation as opposed to recreation. I've got no problem with that - it would be nice of them to partially offset the purchase of a new gravel bike for me, but I'm not going to get upset that I have to pay full price (or close to it) for a new toy.

Koyote

Sure, but there are ebikes across the spectrum...Including this one. But the article does not indicate that the incentive is directed toward commuter bikes - only ebikes in general.

I can think of at least ten different ways to actually incentivize people to substitute bikes for autos, but this will only accomplish it incidentally.

WhyFi

So get crackin'.

In the meantime, I'm okay with something that gets our over-weight and fossil fuel dependent asses off the couch. Our taxes have been spent, and continue to be spent, on far, far worse.

rut3556 

Alternative transportation....GOOD!
Recreational use....BAD!

Koyote

I doubt it will have that effect. Given ebike prices, this would likely just be (mostly) a nice giveaway to people who would've bought them anyway.

I would very much like the government to incentivize people to ride bikes, both for commuting and for recreation. But this is not a very fruitful approach.

billridesbikes

I don't think it's any more ridiculous than a $7500 tax credit for a Porsche Taycan 4S.

I think it would be better if it was targeted specifically to e-Cargo bikes rather than pure recreational ones. If it kickstarts a few American manufactures what's wrong with that? Wouldn't be the first or last manufacturer helped by the tax structure. About 1 out of every 3 dollars today didn't even exist last March, so if we are using the National credit card willy-nilly we might as well some of it to get more people on bikes and more cycling infra-structure out if it.

WhyFi

Again - so get crackin'. Call or write to your lawmakers with your ten different and better approaches. FWIW, though, I can see this appealing to a number of people that I know for whom the e-bike price of entry is a significant stumbling block.

I read this as: it doesn't cover what's on my shopping list.

Koyote

I'm always surprised when people make assumptions even when it's just as easy to simply ask.

Phil_gretz

Misnomer and actually factually incorrect. The latest research says that not only are fossilized plant matter origins and time no longer the causes of the Earth's crude and gas production, but also that supply is tremendously greater than thought only a decade ago. It is very likely that the Earth doesn't have a fixed depleted amount, as was once thought, but that it continues to produce it. Marvelous. Anyway, not fossils...

Troul 

similar thinking that the earth was flat.

Whoa...

icemilkcoffee 

Some of us bike to work every day. We're doing our part in reducing CO2 emissions. Why shouldn't we get some tax credit too?

WhyFi

Thanks you for the wonderfully pedantic aside.

Koyote

And I'll add that you're engaging in a classic ad hominem fallacy. Neither my communications (or lack thereof) with my legislators nor my shopping list have any bearing on the efficacy of the proposal.

icemilkcoffee 

Agreed. More bicycling paths and better infrastructure will encourage more people to bike or e-bike to work than a tax credit.

Troul 

I'd rather the tax incentive fund for better kept cycling routes, improved cycling routes, & other related infrastructure related things.

downhillmaster

The ‘me too’ mentality is always so refreshing.
How about people that walk to work?
You thinking that they also deserve a tax credit?
Or how about people that carpool to work? Should all of the passengers get a tax credit?
Mass-transit tax credits?

WhyFi

You're right - let's not do anything for anybody unless it takes care of everybody that thinks they're deserving.

Koyote

These are actually the most commonly-cited reasons, in numerous polls and studies, for why people don't commute by bicycle. Among people who are likely to consider commuting by bike, cost is not a huge factor -- which makes sense, given that it costs far less per mile to commute by almost any bike than it does with almost any auto.

WhyFi

Why not both? One shouldn't preclude the other, but it is a Chicken v Egg thing. There's often tremendous pushback locally against building out cycling infrastructure when there's the perception that there's not enough cyclists to take advantage of said infrastructure. It's dumb, but I've seen this firsthand in both NYC and the Twin Cities. Giving someone the ability to easily maintain 20mph certainly does make it easier to take advantage of a lot of the existing infrastructure, though.

Troul 

I've witness over the years the impact to what a bike paths condition will have on a community.
Maintained = will be used by the intended people
Unmaintained = Crime uses it.

My take on why to keep the paths maintained.. Crime seeks out areas that lack attention (oversight) to "take over" .