Gdynia: first city in Poland to help residents buy an e-bike

The Municipality has set aside an annual budget to boost the usage of this sustainable mobility mode

The City of Gdynia is expecting that the arrival of spring will also bring an increased number of electric bikes on its streets. And not just because of the favourable weather, but also because the local authorities have unveiled a new wave of subsidies that will aid local residents with the purchasing of a new e-bicycle.

Last year’s pilot initiative, which made the Baltic port city a pioneer in that respect in all of Poland, was met with a lot of enthusiasm, so the officials decided to double the funding available for the aid. This year the pot that has been set aside for that amounts to PLN 200,000 (about 42,500 euros). That means that as many as 80 local applicants will find acquiring a brand-new and environmentally friendly bicycle easier.

Gdynia has room to grow for soft mobility

Importantly, all the rules for granting subsidies to residents have remained unchanged from last year and there is still a subsidy in the amount corresponding to as much as 50% of the value of eligible costs incurred, but not more than PLN 2,500.

According to the evaluation survey conducted regarding the last year's edition of the programme, over 80% of people who received a subsidy last year admitted that the co-financing resulted in greater interest in this means of transport. More than half also said that they use an electric bike several times a week even in the autumn and winter season. 97% of purchased bikes are used regularly.

“Last year's grant turned out to be a great success. The residents were looking forward to the next pool and since December we have received a lot of calls asking when we will restart the project. We are glad that the residents want to change their transport habits and despite the fact that some time has passed since the application was submitted, they are still willing to take advantage of the subsidy,” explained Marek Łucyk, Deputy Mayor of Gdynia for Development.

Half of the funds provided for the subsidy have been provided by the Provincial Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management in Gdańsk.