The San Francisco Commission on the Environment voted unanimously March 25 to approve a resolution authorizing an expansion grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to scale the city’s e‑bike delivery program.
Charles Sheehan, the department’s chief policy and public affairs officer, said the city had previously run a state CEC grant that selected 30 e‑bike participants and that the DOE expansion grant — approximately $605,000 — would grow the program to around 75 participants. The Department of Energy grant was described as spanning September 2023 through September 2026 under the prime contractor arrangement; staff proposed a technical amendment to adjust disbursement language to extend through 2027.
The program provides e‑bikes and trainings for delivery workers, and Sheehan said one objective is to create an online calculator and selection tool to spur adoption among delivery workers. GRID Alternatives will serve as the prime contractor to recruit participants, procure equipment, administer surveys and collect program data.
After the staff presentation commissioners moved to adopt the amended resolution. Commissioner Ahn moved to approve the amended resolution; Commissioner Bermejo seconded. Edgar, speaking for GRID Alternatives, praised the program and described participant benefits, including lower operating costs compared with car use.
Roll call resulted in unanimous ayes from Vice President Sullivan, Commissioner Ahn, Commissioner Bermejo, Commissioner Hunter, Commissioner Tompkins and Commissioner Yuen. The resolution passed.
Clarifying details recorded by staff included a resolve line stated in the materials totaling $537,286 to be dispersed (staff proposed striking a clause referencing fiscal year 23 to '24 and changing the disbursement language to extend through 2027). The resolution delegates program implementation to GRID Alternatives for recruitment, procurement and evaluation activities.