$266K safety study to give out 90 e-bikes in Portland area

PORTLAND Ore. (KPTV) - A year-long pilot program developed by private and public organizations in Oregon will give out 90 electronic bikes to people in the greater Portland metro area, beginning Sunday.

Ride2Own is a $266,725 program funded by Portland General Electric’s Drive Change Fund, the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, Metro, the U.S. Department of Energy and more. Local organizations including The Street Trust and We all Rise are also working with the program to enhance electric bike safety, accessibility, and e-mobility.

The e-bikes will be given out to people who not only met certain financial criteria but also displayed that an e-bike was necessary

“Maybe they didn’t have a bike, or biking was challenging for them, but the electric aspect of the e-bike made it easier for them to ride,” says Quincy Brown with We All Rise.

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The launch will happen in two phases. The first phase begins in the Portsmouth neighborhood with 15 e-bikes. Then during the second phase of the program, which won’t happen for some time, the remaining 75 bikes will be distributed in Parkrose, Milwaukie and Hillsboro.

“These are areas that have typically lacked transportation development,” Brown says. “They have been either zoned in a way that does not have active transportation facilities. It’s only really seeing this as an opportunity to better plan transportation.”

If participants follow the guidelines detailed on the app, at the end of 12 months, they will get to keep the e-bike for free.

“The trips will be tracked using the app, and that will help us better plan at active transportation, routes, bike lanes, and other infrastructure about the Portsmouth neighborhood,” Brown says.

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We All Rise says riding an e-bike can be more comfortable than riding a regular bicycle and make a difference for many people.

“It’s really going to allow folks to feel comfortable on these bikes feel like they have a community around them to be supportive of the bikes and really be able to move away from single occupancy, vehicle transportation process to an active transportation process,” Brown says.

To learn more and apply for the program, visit the Ride2Own website here

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