TEXAS \u2014 Last year, the City of San Antonio started an e-bike pilot program. Many participants said it has been life-changing for them and the environment.<\/p>\n
Patricia Fennell, who goes by Miss Patty, lives in downtown San Antonio without a car.<\/p>\n
\u201cI do ride Lyft a lot,\u201d Fennell said. \u201cI do ride the bus a lot. Sometimes, when you\u2019re riding the bus, you always got to remember, every stop is not close by where you need to go.\u201d<\/p>\n
She said her neighbor encouraged her to apply for the city\u2019s e-bike rebate program, which gives those selected a $1,000 voucher to purchase an electric bike.<\/p>\n
\u201cFirst time I didn\u2019t get picked, but the second round I did,\u201d Fennell said. \u201cI was so glad of it and really appreciative of it.\u201d<\/p>\n
In March 2025, San Antonio\u2019s Department of Resilience and Sustainability launched the e-bike pilot program, increasing mobility options for some low-income residents.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe received a grant from the Department of Energy, through the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant,\u201d said Laura Patino, director of San Antonio\u2019s Department of Resilience and Sustainability.<\/p>\n
Patino said over two application cycles, more than 4,500 residents have applied.<\/p>\n
\u201cFindings from the first phase is that it really is improving in providing additional accessibility for folks,\u201d Patino said. \u201cEven improving the last mile solution from public transit.\u201d<\/p>\n
Although many were interested, just 425 people were selected to get bike vouchers \u2014 only paying sales tax out of pocket.<\/p>\n
\u201c(Ages) 18 to 65, with most people applying around that 40-year-old age group,\u201d said Ricardo Ambriz, sustainable transportation manager. \u201cSo surprisingly, 40-year-olds are applying the most for this program.\u201d<\/p>\n
Patino said through the e-bike program, they\u2019ve been able to reduce 2,000 pounds of greenhouse gas emissions so far.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re not just reducing emissions. We\u2019re also providing alternative modes of transport,\u201d Patino said. \u201cAnd at the same time, it\u2019s also an opportunity for folks to get outside and exercise.\u201d<\/p>\n
Data from more than a thousand e-bike trips show riders are using these bikes for faster commutes.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe average e-bike trip is about three miles,\u201d Ambriz said. \u201cSo, people are using it to replace short car trips or where it\u2019s just a little too far to walk comfortably, especially in the heat.\u201d<\/p>\n
While the city faces a projected $158 million budget deficit, the Department of Resilience and Sustainability is looking at federal, state, and private funding to keep the e-bike program going.<\/p>\n
\u201cReally addressing what our community needs are through one program,\u201d Patino said.<\/p>\n
After recovering from back surgery, Miss Patty plans to get active.<\/p>\n
\u201cStart riding it to church,\u201d Fennell said. \u201cAug. 14, I got released from the doctor. He said, \u2018Go full speed ahead, but make sure you wear your helmet so you don\u2019t have to come back and see me.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"TEXAS \u2014 Last year, the City of San Antonio started an e-bike pilot program. Many participants said it…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":451814,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[21023,3564,132,3565,102,138,223,82,84,83,27,1569,840,835],"class_list":["post-451813","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-antonio","tag-amber-hughes","tag-app-community","tag-austin","tag-community-news","tag-dallas","tag-el-paso","tag-news","tag-san-antonio","tag-san-antonio-headlines","tag-san-antonio-news","tag-texas","tag-texas-what-you-need-to-know","tag-transportation","tag-vod"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/451813","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=451813"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/451813\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/451814"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=451813"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=451813"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=451813"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}