Now, there are two of them! Another e-bike rebate bill has popped up in the D.C. Council’s agenda.

The “Electric Bicycle Rebate Program Amendment Act of 2023” Councilmember Charles Allen introduced Friday goes above and beyond an e-bike rebate bill from Councilmember Brooke Pinto introduced just three weeks ago. Pinto’s bill is the clear winner the Battle of the Acronyms: the “Electric Bicycle Incentive Kickstarting the Environment (“E-BIKE”) Act of 2023.”

But Allen’s bill, with eight co-signers, proposes more rebates for buying e-bikes. It also calls for the District directly reimburse the retailer, which Allen says ensures that residents who cannot afford the full cost of an e-bike upfront aren’t shut out of the opportunity.

People who are on SNAP or TANF or don’t own a vehicle would be eligible for:

• $2,000 for the purchase of a qualifying cargo e-bike
• $1,500 for the purchase of a qualifying e-bike
• $300 for a replacement battery
• $250 for annual maintenance, to include cost of parts and labor
• $250 for e-bike or cargo e-bike parts to accommodate a disability
• $150 for a bike lock

Everyone else would be eligible for:

• $1,000 for the purchase of a qualifying cargo e-bike
• $750 for the purchase of a qualifying e-bike
• $150 for a replacement battery
• $125 for e-bike or cargo e-bike parts to accommodate a disability
• $75 for a bike lock

“For a city with ambitions to grow, the e-bike offers simple and elegant solutions to problems ranging from traffic to emissions to parking to safety to good old-fashioned exercise,” Allen said in a news release about his bill. “If you’ve ridden an e-bike once, you get it. It makes travel enjoyable and safer, not an inconvenient task.”

Bikes would have to be purchased from a registered D.C. bike store. The bill also includes incentives to make sure there are enough shops and bike mechanics. A $50,000 grant hopes to spur businesses to open a bike shop in Wards 7 and 8, which are currently bike shop deserts.  Other incentives would train D.C. residents to be professional bike mechanics.

Which bill will prevail? Allen says he’ll hold hearings on both bills, but he also chairs the Committee on Transportation and the Environment if that tips the hat at all.