Positive Spin

People with e-bikes drive less, pollute less, parkinglots-and that's only part of why cities and states are embracing them with gusto.

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LUCHIA BROWN USED to bomb around Denver in her Subaru. She had places to be. Brown, 57, works part time helping to run her husband's engineering firm while managing a rental apartment above their garage and an Airbnb out of a section of the couple's three-story brick house. She volunteers for nonprofits, sometimes offering input to city committees, often on transportation policy. “I’m a professional good troublemaker,” she jokes when we meet in her sun-soaked backyard one fine spring day.

She’s also an environmentally conscious type who likes the idea of driving less. Brown bought a regular bike years ago, but mainly used it just for neighborhood jaunts. “I’m not uber-fit,” she says. “I’m not a slug, but I’m not one of the warriors in Lycra, and I don’t really want to arrive in a sweat.”

Then, a couple years ago, she heard Denver was offering $400 vouchers to help residents purchase an e-bike—or up to $900 to- ward a hefty “cargo” model that can haul heavier loads, including children. She’d considered an e-bike, but the city’s offer provided “an extra kick in the derriere to make me do it.”

She opens her garage door to show off her purchase: a bright blue Pedego Boomerang. It’s a pricey model—$2,600 after the voucher—but “it changed my life!” she says. Nowadays, Brown thinks nothing of zipping halfway across town, her long dark-gray hair flying out behind her helmet. Hills do not faze her. Parking is hassle-free. And she can carry groceries in a crate strapped to the rear rack. She’d just ridden 4 miles to a doctor’s appointment for a checkup on a recent hip replacement. She rides so often—and at such speeds—that her husband bought his own e-bike to keep up: “I’m like, ‘Look, when you’re riding with me, it’s not about ex- ercise. It’s about getting somewhere.’”