Professor Chris Cherry told CNBC why e-bikes are popular among commuters and why they have gained adoption by the public in recent years. The version of the Build Back Better Act passed by the House offers incentives to further ramp up adoption to help the US cut its carbon emissions.
Cherry notes that in terms of the climate provisions of the bill, the incentives will only translate into reduced carbon emissions if people are using e-bikes in place of cars.
“If you really care about emissions and that’s why you’re buying a bicycle—and I think that’s the main gist of the e-bike [tax credit] in the Build Back Better bill—you have to do it in a way that substitutes car trips,” said Cherry.
The incentive is targeted toward commuter-oriented e-bikes that Cherry’s research has found to have a big impact on car trip replacement.