We’re making biking better in New Jersey through funding local bike projects, supporting pro-bike policies and legislation at the local and state levels and highlighting great hometown routes on Ride Spot. In June 2019, we helped pass New Jersey’s electric bicycle law, which legalized Class 1 and Class 2 electric bicycles statewide.  

Photo Credit: Mackinac Island Tourism Bureau

PeopleForBikes’ annual City Ratings is a data-driven program to identify, evaluate, and compare the best cities and towns for bicycling in the U.S. and across the world. Based on data from PeopleForBikes’ Bicycle Network Analysis (BNA), each city receives a City Ratings score on a scale of 0-100. 

High-scoring cities often perform well across six factors captured in the acronym SPRINT: safe speeds, protected bike lanes, reallocated space for biking and walking, intersection treatments, network connections, and trusted data.


For 2024, we ranked more than 2,500 cities worldwide, including 816 new U.S. cities and 133 new cities across the U.K. and Australia.

Medium Cities (50,000-300,000 population)

On December 12, the PeopleForBikes Coalition Board of Directors approved our 2023 Industry Community Grants recipients, totaling $100,000 in funding across 13 grants. The grants will help fund projects that support our focus on building infrastructure that makes communities great places to ride a bike. The projects include several pump tracks, efforts to build safe routes to schools, demonstration projects to promote the importance of protected bike lanes, innovative solutions to combat bike theft in college towns, and mountain bike parks in flat urban areas.

2023 PeopleForBikes Industry Community Grants

Delmont, PA | Trail construction and intersection improvements for a connection to the Westmoreland Heritage Rail Trail. Our funds leverage an additional $18,000 to build a new and vital bikeway for residents and visitors in Delmont.

Sandersville, GA | Funding to construct the first 3 miles of a 250-mile trail system in Georgia, leveraging $6 million in other funding.

Los Angeles, CA | One in a series of “CicLAminis,” a neighborhood-focused open streets event celebrating new neighborhood bike infrastructure. This grant will highlight the specific trail extensions and protected bikeways that improve bicycling locally. 

Ann Arbor, MI | Demonstration project to install and evaluate permeable surfaces on a segment of the Treeline-Allen Creek Urban Trail to create a safe and accessible bike path through a floodplain.

Durango, CO | Demonstration projects of fully protected bike lanes on key portions of a proposed citywide network of low-stress bikeways.   

Saint Johns, AZ | A collaboration with the Legacy Teen Center to build a new pump track that will help launch the Legacy Bike Club. 

Jersey City, NJ | Demonstration project to install and evaluate protected bike lanes in Jersey City to leverage $670,590 in state funding for permanent construction.

Clear Creek Off-Road Bike Association — $7,650

Pearland, TX | Initial construction costs for an innovative mountain bike trail system in an urban park, using shipping containers to create hills in an otherwise flat, low-income neighborhood.  

Providence, RI | Community rides and organizing to win community support for protected bike lanes in low-income communities and leverage $28 million in federal grants.

Tempe, AZ | A "bike bus" to highlight the need for infrastructure that’s safe for children to enjoy on a bicycle and support its construction.

Eugene, OR | An innovative solution to prevent bike theft with a strategy to expand the use of public funding and provide an example for other college towns where bike theft prevents people from relying on a bike for transportation.

St. Louis, MO | Support for the construction of a quick-build protected bike lane on Compton Avenue, a key connection to existing bike boulevard projects in the citywide network.

Kearns, UT | An upgrade to the Lodestar XC Bike Park to enhance the trails and add skills features including adaptive features. Open to the public, the park provides the only training opportunities for students from six high school mountain bike teams.  

PeopleForBikes' Industry Community Grants Program provides funding for projects that make bicycling better in communities across the U.S. Since 1999, PeopleForBikes has awarded more than 400 grants to nonprofit organizations and local governments in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Our investments total more than $3.5 million and have leveraged $775 million in public and private funding for bike-related projects nationwide.

PeopleForBikes' 2023 Industry Community Grants Recipients

Even great biking cities need to constantly improve to ensure they remain at the forefront of creating better communities for bicycling. Just ask Munich, Germany, which, even with a City Ratings score of 83, strives to make its city even better for bicycling with the 2022 announcement of a new plan for six cycling expressways and a bicycle ring road to be completed by 2025. 

City Ratings scores and the creation of great places for biking are positively impacted by plans that embody PeopleForBikes' SPRINT framework: reducing speeds, constructing protected bike lanes, reallocating road space, improving intersections, establishing comprehensive networks of safe cycling routes, and using trusted data to inform decision-making. These strategies help communities enhance bike infrastructure and make riding better for everyone.

With that in mind, we explored our top-rated U.S. cities for 2023 to find the most exceptional bike plans. Each of these communities sets an inspiring example for others to follow, demonstrating the transformative power of well-crafted bike plans in building vibrant, bike-friendly communities that get more people riding more often.

Rated as the top large U.S. city in our City Ratings program for 2023, Minneapolis has developed one of the country’s most robust bicycle networks thanks in part to its 2011 Bicycle Master Plan, 2013 Climate Action Plan, 2020 Transportation Action Plan, and 2015 Protected Bikeway Update to the Bicycle Master Plan. The 2015 plan outlined a long-term objective of creating 174 miles of protected bike lanes as part of the city's bike network. To help implement these plans, Minneapolis’ Street Design Guide was created to steer the design of road reconstructions and retrofits.

In 1967, Davis constructed a bike lane on 8th Street, making it the first U.S. city with a designated bike lane. Today, Davis is PeopleForBikes’ highest-rated medium-sized city, with more than 100 miles of bike lanes and paths. The city has bike plans dating back to 1977 available on its website, offering a glimpse into how thinking about bike infrastructure has changed over the decades. Davis’ most recent plan, its 2014 Beyond Platinum Bicycle Action Plan, outlines strategies to help Davis continue leading the way in creating a safe and attractive bicycling community to meet climate adaptation goals and accommodate a growing population.

San Francisco's Vision Zero Action Plan and Quick Build Program is part of the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency's efforts to prioritize safety and sustainable transportation. In recent years, it’s gained significant traction, building upon the city’s transit-first policy, which voters approved in the 1970s. The program’s success lies in its iterative design process, which uses streamlined delivery to produce quick results, project evaluations to determine what’s working in regard to safety outcomes, and the willingness to redesign projects if needed. 

As it approaches its tenth anniversary, the program has showcased notable achievements for people riding bikes, including increasing bike volumes by up to 75%, reducing vehicle-bike interactions at bike signals by 93%, reducing vehicular speeds, and decreasing the percentage of vehicles blocking bike lanes by 90%.  All of this has helped land San Francisco our number two spot among large U.S. cities in this year’s City Ratings program.

In 2021, Seattle updated its Bicycle Master Plan to guide the city’s work over the next four years, listing specific infrastructure projects to be completed within that time frame. Through regular updates to the plan, Seattle has been able to adjust project lists and provide progress reports to the City Council and the Seattle Bicycle Advisory Board on the implementation status of the overall master plan — something that is required by City Council Resolution in Seattle. 

The Bicycle Master Plan works in conjunction with the city's Vision Zero Plan and Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety Analysis, which help prioritize bicycle infrastructure based on safety considerations, as well as the Seattle Trails Upgrade Plan, which helps guide trail connectivity and maintenance projects. Together, these four plans have helped the city lower speed limits to 25 mph for more than 90% of its arterial streets and, as of November 2022, build out 32 miles of protected bike lanes and trails, as well as nearly 60 miles of neighborhood greenways. All of this work has helped Seattle increase its Bicycle Network Analysis score — which directly informs City Ratings results — from 47 in 2018 to 62 in 2023. 

From 2000 to 2009, Philadelphia saw a 151% increase in bicycle commuting, making it the fastest-growing mode of transportation in the city. In 2012, when Philadelphia released its updated Pedestrian and Bicycle Plan, the city had already used its 2000 version of the plan to create more than 230 miles of bike lanes and other on-road bicycle facilities to keep up with growing demand. In 2013, the city also released its Trail Master Plan, which has since been updated annually. 

While the 2012 plan focused on improving network connectivity by filling gaps in the network, the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia wanted more, challenging the city to construct 30 miles of protected bike lanes. That idea gained traction in 2018 when the Kenney Administration integrated it into Connect: Philadelphia's Strategic Transportation Plan. 

Key components of these plans (and the city’s Vision Zero Plan) helped increase Philadelphia’s Bicycle Network Analysis score from 43 in 2018 to 57 in 2023. They include the creation of neighborhood slow zones, an impressive regional trail network, and new protected bike lanes on JFK Boulevard, Market Street, Race Street, Torresdale Avenue, and Parkside Avenue.

In 2019, Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller made a commitment to Vision Zero, joining more than 40 other U.S. communities in an effort to eliminate traffic deaths and serious injuries. That commitment has clearly paid off for the city’s bike network: While it’s not a top-rated city (yet), Albuquerque's Bicycle Network Analysis score jumped from just 13 in 2019 to 29 in 2023. 

Released in 2021, Albuquerque’s Vison Zero Action Plan incorporates clear themes and corresponding action items, designating lead agencies and organizations responsible for implementing each. Importantly, the plan overlays a vulnerable communities index map with the high fatal and injury network map to address safety concerns to improve equity. 

From 1997 to 2007, Teton County and the Town of Jackson constructed more than 25 miles of paved shared-use paths. Since the completion of the Pathways Master Plan in 2007, that mileage has grown exponentially, landing Jackson in the number six overall spot in our U.S. City Ratings program with a score of 79. With 70 miles of paved pathways and 152 miles of trails, the pathway system now links the community to even more riding opportunities in nearby Bridger-Teton National Forest and Grand Teton National Park. 

Beyond identifying priority infrastructure investments to improve and expand the Pathways system, the Master Plan lays out clear recommendations for needed policy changes, team structures, and finances to complete the plan’s vision and maintain the Pathways network, ensuring the system is set up for long-term success. The 2015 Community Streets Plan complements the Pathways Master Plan by providing a street design manual that governs the development of public infrastructure projects, ensuring that bikeways are developed under set standards and in line with the master plan. 

In 2021, Hoboken released its Vision Zero Action Plan, which aims to achieve Vision Zero in five years by implementing immediate improvements for safer streets. The plan helped the city identify high-crash corridors and intersections and recommend specific measures to reduce crashes and their impact, many of which the city has moved quickly to implement, including protected bike lanes, curb extensions, high-visibility crosswalks, and a citywide 20-mile-per-hour speed limit. 

Hoboken’s 2010 Bicycle and Pedestrian Plan also helped put the city on the right track to becoming what is now one of the best medium-sized cities in the U.S. for biking, with a City Ratings score of 62. Even more importantly, Hoboken has achieved something most advocates in other U.S. cities can only dream of: no traffic fatalities for four consecutive years.

Cambridge achieved one of the most significant increases in our City Ratings program, soaring from 31 in 2018 to an impressive 58 in 2023. Improvements in Cambridge have been propelled forward through the 2020 Cambridge Bicycle Plan, the city’s Vision Zero Action Plan, and the implementation of separated bike lanes as mandated by the Cambridge Cycling Safety Ordinance. Perhaps most influential, the Cycling Safety Ordinance requires the city to build almost its entire citywide network of protected bike lanes by 2026.

How Great Bike Plans Transform Communities

With more protected bike lanes and low-stress bike networks being built across the country than ever before, we had a tough time picking this past year’s best new bike lanes. While numerous projects deserve recognition, we rounded up the top nine projects worth emulating. 

9. Marin Boulevard Bikeway
Hoboken and Jersey City, New Jersey



In November, Jersey City and Hoboken completed construction on the Marin Boulevard and Henderson Street bikeway, which was first called for in the “Let's Ride JC Bike Master Plan” as a way to better connect the two cities. The expansion of CitiBike into Hoboken also increased demand to ride between the two cities, says Mike Lydon of Street Plans, who worked on the project’s design. In 2022, CitiBike’s most popular route was between Hoboken Terminal and Jersey City’s Hoboken Avenue and Monmouth Street, which saw a total of 5,500 bike share trips. With the completion of the Marin Boulevard project, those rides can now be made entirely on protected bike lanes.

The bikeway is separated from traffic with plastic curbing and flexible posts, and it includes a textured painted surface that makes the bikeway more visible and improves traction. As a “quick build” project, the cities chose to move forward with somewhat temporary materials to expedite the project and improve safety, something that wouldn’t have been feasible with more permanent materials that require sidewalk reconstruction and drainage work, not to mention a longer timeline. According to Lyndsey Scofield, senior transportation planner of Jersey City, this approach “provides us with more flexibility to iterate on the design over time as we learn what works well and what could be improved.”

After being declared one of Rhode Island’s most dangerous streets, Providence worked with the local community to reimagine Broad Street with protected bike lanes, bus islands, and crosswalk improvements. While balancing the needs of local businesses, bus riders, and people walking and biking, Broad Street now serves as a key component of the city’s Urban Trail Network, improving safety and accessibility for some of the city’s poorest and most diverse neighborhoods to jobs and opportunities citywide, as well as access to three major urban parks and multiple regional trails. Space for the bikeway was created by removing a wide center turn lane, which also helped reduce speeding along the street. 

7. Green Lake Outer Loop
Seattle, Washington

By converting a state highway lane into a two-way protected bike lane, Seattle created a new connection between Green Lake — one of the city’s most popular parks — and neighborhoods to the west. It also improved safety along the notoriously dangerous Aurora Avenue. As part of the project, precast concrete jersey barriers, which were repurposed from a nearby bridge repair project, were used to provide ample protection from adjacent motor vehicles. They also helped accelerate the construction of the project due to their immediate availability. 

According to Brock Howell, a member of the local advocacy group Aurora Reimagined Coalition, one of the primary goals of the project was to provide families the ability to ride around the park’s entire outer loop. The group hopes these improvements are a first phase in what will eventually become a completely redesigned Aurora Avenue, which stretches more than 10 miles from the Seattle-Shoreline border to downtown. “We have more work to do to improve safety along the rest of Aurora Ave North,” says Seattle Department of Transportation Director Greg Spotts, “But we expect this project to lead to safer speeds near Green Lake.” 

6. Hub City Hopper Trail
Spartanburg, South Carolina

As part of the larger 50-mile Daniel Morgan Trail System, the Hub City Hopper Trail — an extension of the Mary Black Rail Trail — demonstrates the benefits of connecting trails to town centers and urban areas. The project makes streets safer for people walking and biking while expanding access to recreational riding opportunities. It’s a trend we hope to see more of in urban and rural areas alike. 

The trail extension is already attracting new development to Spartanburg: A 132-unit housing project, the Fitzgerald, was planned by developers, in part, to take advantage of the city’s investment in the trail extension. In a recent WSPA feature on the project, John Montgomery, chair of the Daniel Morgan Committee, noted that they expect “to continue to see development pop up around the trail, [including] more residential, more apartments, because people see the value in trails and connecting them and promoting health and wellness. It’s a real community builder.” 

In 2021, Spartanburg County received a $23.8 million U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) RAISE grant — one of largest grants awarded by USDOT that year — to install more than 14 miles of multi-use trails and a new bicycle and pedestrian bridge as part of the Daniel Morgan Trail System.

Although it was technically completed in late 2021, we couldn’t resist putting Bloomington’s new 7-Line protected bike lane on our list for 2022. With a population of just under 80,000 people, the 7-Line proves that protected bike lanes aren’t just for big cities like New York or Los Angeles. The project connects downtown Bloomington with Indiana University’s campus and aims to increase bike ridership by providing a safe, comfortable place for people to ride.

In 2015, after Bike Portland called on the city to address a lack of safe space for people walking and biking along Naito Parkway and Waterfront Park, the city responded with improvements that provide plentiful safe space for people walking, biking, and rolling along the parkway. According to Gwen Shaw of Toole Design Group, the adjacent Waterfront Park “became busy with festivals and visitors during the summer months, making the existing conditions of no sidewalk and a standard bike lane a challenge.” Now, with a sidewalk, bi-directional protected bikeway, and pedestrian refuge islands, Naito Parkway offers a complete street that meets the needs of this busy area.

3. Bigelow Boulevard
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

The Bigelow Boulevard project, which was initiated and managed by the University of Pittsburgh, serves as an example of how institutions can invest in surrounding communities — to the benefit of both. According to Paul Supowitz, special assistant for strategic initiatives at the University of Pittsburgh, the project was driven by conflicts between various road users, congestion, and the need for better connectivity to the city’s bike network. 

Photo Credit: Matt Johnson, Montgomery County Department of Transportation

2. Capital Crescent Surface Trail
Bethesda, Maryland

When it was completed in November 2022, the Capital Crescent Surface Trail became the third project in Montgomery County to include a protected intersection. As part of a larger network, the project links downtown Bethesda to the nearby Capital Crescent Trail, an 11-mile paved and gravel trail that connects Bethesda with Georgetown and Silver Spring. According to Matt Johnson, capital project manager with the Montgomery County Department of Transportation, the two-phase project is part of a larger planning effort for the nearby Purple Line light rail project.

In April 2022, New York City announced plans to make the 34th Avenue Open Street permanent. (Photo Credit: John Surico)

One great way to make communities safer and more welcoming for people riding bicycles doesn’t even involve constructing new bike paths or bike lanes — simply remove cars from streets.

Although car-free streets have been a staple of people-centered spaces for decades, 2022 saw new examples come to fruition in communities across the country. San Francisco’s JFK Drive (which became permanent after voters rejected a ballot initiative to re-introduce cars), Beach Drive in Washington D.C.’s Rock Creek Park, and new car-free developments such as Culdesac in Tempe and Neighborhood Next in San Diego are all examples that advocates and elected officials should seek to emulate in their own communities. 

While many of these projects, including New York’s 34th Avenue, were spurred by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, cities are now moving to make them permanent, a trend unlikely to go away any time soon. Although some car-free streets were phased out of existence by many U.S. cities in the latter half of the 20th century, nearly all of those removals and declines can be attributed to other failed policies such as urban renewal, redlining, and auto-centric zoning. With these new wildly popular projects being integrated into low-stress bike networks, we think it's safe to say that car-free streets are making a comeback.

PeopleForBikes, a national bicycling advocacy organization, and the U.S. bicycle industry’s trade association announced its latest round of community grants totaling $92,000. The 11 projects funded in 2022 will support bicycle infrastructure and advocacy projects across the U.S. 

PeopleForBikes’ Industry Community Grants Program is funded through the Employee Pro Purchase program, which collects donations from individuals who work in the bike industry and take advantage of pro-pricing discounts on new bikes and bicycling equipment. Cannondale and Trek currently participate. 

Since 1999, the PeopleForBikes Industry Community Grants Program has funded more than 400 projects in all 50 states totaling more than $3.6 million in direct funds. The total funding this year represents more than 1,000 individuals in the bike industry who gave back to grow bicycling through an employee pro purchase. 

“Seeing the industry come together to support community grants big and small continues to be incredibly inspiring,” said Jenn Dice, president and CEO of PeopleForBikes. “We thank the companies and thousands of employees that contribute to this important program. These projects will make a tangible difference in 11 communities while aiding our larger mission of getting more people on bikes more often and making biking better for everyone.” 

The Center of Southwest Culture
Albuquerque, NM 

This grant will support Story Riders, a program at The Center of Southwest Culture, Inc. that empowers Indigenous and Latino youth to reconnect with their natural and cultural heritage, all while providing practical training in bicycle safety, maintenance, and guided cycling experiences. Each student will take home the bike they work on and a new helmet. 

BikeHouston will use the funding to launch Gear Shifters, an advocacy training program for BikeHouston staff and volunteers. Gear Shifters will expand and enhance advocacy efforts by representing the needs of people who ride bikes at public meetings, as well as in conversations with elected officials, community groups, and developers.

Bike Works Seattle’s mission is to promote the bicycle as a vehicle for change and a tool for building resilient communities. This grant will be used for general operating support, more than 80% of which will go directly to youth, adult, community, and environmental cycling programs and services. 

Trails Utah will use this grant to launch a pilot project to modify existing trails with the specific goal of accommodating adaptive mountain bikers. Funds will be used to purchase equipment and signage, as well as pay for physical trail work by the Utah Conservation Corps.

Trailnet works to foster healthy, active, and vibrant communities where walking, bicycling, and the use of public transit is a way of life. Funding will help accelerate the installation of safer mobility networks in St. Louis by focusing on high-crash corridors, which are predominantly in Black and underserved communities. 

The Red Line Parkway Initiative empowers diverse communities to enjoy, develop, and enhance the Red Line Trail and Parkway, a 32-mile, multimodal rails-with-trails project. Grant funds will support a portion of 2023 engagement activities with an emphasis on social equity and physical and mental health. 

Girls in Gear teaches life skills through bike skills to help young female riders build confidence on and off their bikes. Funding will be used for coach training and support, as well as program supplies, to ensure every girl has the chance to safely and confidently bike through life.

Community Action Duluth’s BikePlus program provides those recently released from incarceration with a free bicycle, helmet, and bike lock. This grant will allow Community Action Duluth to continue its efforts and reach more people in need. 

This grant will fund bikepacking trips for those in Deaf community in the Mid-Atlantic region, offering environmental education, leadership training, and essential bicycle maintenance. Funds will also be used to provide a day trip for groups to a gravel or mountain biking trail, allowing for local community connections.

With this grant, Salem Bike Vision (SBV) will host three community rides in 2023, working to educate the public about what makes for effective bike infrastructure and helping identify areas where safety is lacking. The organization will also engage local decision-makers around opportunities to use the city’s recently passed bond for safe bike infrastructure.

Dunn Gardens will use funding to purchase and install two bike racks, which will allow for more car-free commuting and send a welcoming message to the many visitors in the neighborhood who rely on bicycles for transportation. 

PeopleForBikes Announces 2022 Industry Community Grant Recipients

We’ve combed through every state bicycling bill currently being considered — here are the top five themes that emerged and why they’re important.

PeopleForBikes’ state and local policy team keeps a running document of state legislative bills that could have implications, good or bad, for bike riding and bike businesses. Over the past six years, they’ve noted a significant bump in the representation of bikes in state legislatures and recently, certain bills have stood out as fitting into a national theme or being completely novel.

“The 2021 legislative sessions are proving to be a prime example of how bike legislation can not only improve bike riding but also play a serious role in helping states achieve their environmental, social and economic goals,” said Ashley Seaward, PeopleForBikes’ regulatory and policy analyst.

Updated as of February 2021, the five policies highlighted below represent shifts in the way America is making recreation and active transportation decisions, even if none of them are ultimately passed into law. To simply have the ideas in these bills put into an official form at the legislative level means we’re on the right track toward garnering broad public support for bicycles and improving our communities nationwide.

Outdoor recreation bills have been introduced in Utah (House Bill 254), Nebraska (Legislative Bill 605) and Washington (House Bill 5292), but we’re particularly fond of Illinois’ House Bill 194. The bill, introduced by Rep. Sonya M. Harper, creates the Outdoor RX Program Act, which would provide funds for outdoor environmental, ecological, agricultural and other natural resource and outdoor-based therapy programs. 

Included in the bill is some great preamble language: “Time outdoors can be a valuable adjunct therapy in addition to more traditional health care, while also reducing reliance on prescription medication.” Furthermore, the bill lists the therapeutic benefits of time spent outdoors as a scientific fact, a known way to “help reduce stress, improve concentration and promote overall well-being, both physical and mental.” 

Why should you care? This bill would put into Illinois state law that outdoor recreation is on par with other forms of therapy and medicine, opening the opportunity for other states (and, ideally, insurance companies) to follow suit. By providing a more holistic approach to caring for people, a healthcare provider might eventually be able to prescribe riding a bike instead of medication, lessening our dependence on prescription medication while still improving our overall health.

In case you missed it, our federal policy team has been hard at work alongside Representatives Jimmy Panetta (D-CA) and Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) to introduce the Electric Bicycle Incentive Kickstart for the Environment (E-BIKE) Act (H.R. 1019). At the state level, there are currently 23 proposed bills related to electric bicycles. 

California’s Assembly Bill 117 stands out for its acknowledgment that electric bicycles are a critical form of transportation and integral when it comes to reducing carbon emissions. This bill would bring about a massive investment in electric bicycles through the Electric Bicycle Rebate Pilot Project, which would be funded with $10 million from the state’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund as part of the Air Quality Improvement Program. 

Two other electric bicycle incentive bills of note: Oklahoma’s Senate Bill 435, which would legalize a $200 electric bicycle purchase incentive, and Washington’s House Bill 1330, which would do away with the existing sales tax on electric bicycles and allow for a $200 incentive to be used on related bicycling equipment. 

Why should you care? A 2019 study found that across the United States, we can expect an 11% decrease in carbon emissions with a 15% increase in electric bicycle mode share. The above states are the first to put out realistic models for incentivizing this shift and getting more people buying, and commuting by, electric bicycles.

Dubbed “GHG” for greenhouse gas emissions by our policy team, these bills offer ways for states to combat the rising threat of climate change. Although most bills propose multiple avenues for reducing emissions, all have positive implications for bike infrastructure. Vermont’s House Bill 120 specifically names bicycle infrastructure networks as a way to reduce emissions.

New Jersey’s Assembly Bill 5196 would provide loans and other financial assistance for climate change mitigation and resilience projects, including “zero-emission vehicle infrastructure” (i.e. bike networks). What’s more, the bill stipulates that climate change mitigation projects might include “zero-emission public transportation projects,” such as bike share programs.

Why should you care? Bills like these have only started to emerge in the last few years, hinting at a larger shift in the national conversation surrounding climate change. By providing large-scale funding for public investment projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions, these kinds of bills mean big money for potential bike projects. They also offer a prime opportunity for environmental and transportation advocates to collaborate on a unified goal of reducing emissions through bikes.

No bill is likely to get more people riding than one that offers financial benefits for bicyclists. There are currently two policy proposals that do just that in New York and Hawaii. Hawaii’s, Senate Bill 524, is really an overall commuting bill with positive implications for workers that choose to bike. Similar to the federal Bicycle Commuter Act, which was recently reintroduced to Congress, it would essentially give Hawaiians commuter benefits no matter what mode of transportation they choose.

The preamble language is particularly bold and we’re here for it: “The legislature finds that the State's policy of providing highly subsidized parking for state employees limits the employees' choices, does not reduce traffic congestion or greenhouse gas emissions, and contradicts state policies to encourage alternative modes of transportation.” New York’s Assembly Bill 2234 would similarly allow bicyclists to qualify for commuter benefits.

Why should you care? People should be rewarded for choosing to get to work by bike and, in lieu of national action that’s proved fickle in the past, states are starting to take action. More people commuting by bike means more support for bike infrastructure, cleaner air and healthier employees.

5. Action on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI)


What does a DEI bill have to do with biking? Like almost everything in American life, transportation is intersectional and there’s a long history of disenfranchisement when it comes to Black, Indigenous and people of color, as well as low-income populations and folks with disabilities. Oregon’s House Bill 2985 would ensure that members of the Oregon Department of Transportation advisory committee reflect the racial, ethnic and ability composition of the state.

Why should you care? Transportation decisions need to be made with input from people from all communities, backgrounds and ethnicities. Historically, Black and brown communities have been underrepresented or excluded completely from public planning decisions at every level. We need to make sure there are legal obligations to include all people affected by transportation projects and decisions.

Interested in keeping up with the policies PeopleForBikes supports? Check out our Policy Finder.

5 Bills Every Bike Advocate Should Care About

2019 started with 11 states using the model three-class e-bike definitions. As of June 19, 22 states now define e-bikes within the three classes, effectively doubling the total in just six months. These eleven new states are: Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Maine, Maryland, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas and Wyoming.

A few major themes can be attributed to this success. First, states follow each others’ leads and seek regional consistency in how they treat e-bikes, so there’s momentum. Second, the e-bike market is booming and states recognize that riders need consistent and common-sense rules for where they can be ridden.

Last but not least, the unwavering support from the industry led directly to these wins. Without the above and beyond contributions raised by the BPSA E-Bike Committee to build on-the-ground teams in each of these states, making this much progress in one year would not have been possible. The companies that supported the e-bike initiative in 2019 are: Accell North America, Allegion/Kryptonite, Bosch, Brose, Bulls, Cycling Sports Group, DT Swiss, Envelo, Fantic, Felt, Foldaway Solutions, Fox, Genze, Giant, GM, Harley Davidson, Hi-Power Cycles, Ohm Cycles, Oregon E-Bikes, Pacific Cycle, Pedego, REI, Riese and Muller, Rocky Mountain, Shimano, Specialized, Sport Technik/M1, SRAM, Suzhou Bafang, Taioku, Tempo Bicycles, Tern, TranzX, Trek, Yamaha and Yuba.

In 2015, the BPSA and PeopleForBikes began this national campaign to pass clear e-bike legislation in all 50 states in order to create stability in the marketplace. E-bike manufacturers put aside competitive differences to develop the three class system around critical issues like motor assist, pedal assist, wattage and operational rules.

Good e-bike laws are completely changing business models and customer bases. In states where the three class system of e-bikes has passed, suppliers report that sales of e-bikes more than double. On the local level, bike retailers in states with this law report that having a statewide three class e-bike system helps their team clearly explain where e-bikes are and aren’t allowed, and e-bike sales help offset the loss of revenue due to other declining categories.

Most importantly good e-bike laws are leading to better e-bike access. For example, after Wyoming legislators passed the state’s three class e-bike law in February, Wyoming State Parks decided to allow Class 1 eMTBs anywhere a traditional mountain bike is allowed, and even opted to conduct a Class 2 pilot project. A number of local trail access wins from Virginia to Arizona can be attributed to land managers recognizing the increase of eMTB use and creating consistency with the three classes of e-bikes and state laws.

22 States Now Follow the Three Class E-bike System, Doubling Total in Six Months

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