We’re thrilled to announce that the City of Berkeley has awarded Waterside Workshops a $250,000 grant to create an electric bike (or “e-bike”) access program that will provide e-bikes to income-qualified Berkeley households.
The grant is part of Berkeley’s Pilot Climate Equity Fund, which was established in 2022 to cut greenhouse gas emissions and reduce the impact of climate change on low-income residents.
Although low-income households produce relatively small amounts of greenhouse gases, they are often impacted disproportionately by high energy costs and poorly insulated homes. The Pilot Climate Equity Fund will help create programs in the city that weatherize homes and buildings, subsidize public transit costs, and increase the use of electric transportation.
Partnering with GRID Alternatives, Waterside will manage the distribution of e-bikes to qualified Berkeley residents. Additionally, we will offer training and safety lessons for program participants, and we will collect information on e-bike usage to help inform future climate equity actions.
“We’re excited to partner with the City of Berkeley and GRID Alternatives to offer climate resilience benefits to our hardest hit community members,” said Neil Larsen, the Executive Director of Waterside Workshops. “Providing increased access to e-bikes will help make our city greener and improve the mobility of our neighbors who may have limited transportation options.”
Waterside Workshops has been providing repurposed bicycles to Berkeley and East Bay residents since its founding in 2007. Each year, Waterside refurbishes and recycles over 1,000 unwanted bicycles, which are redistributed to the community through its bike shop and bike giveaway programs.
