Video: Boston’s E-Bike Program Lets Mattapan Couple Regain Their Mobility
The City of Boston has released a tearjerking profile of a Mattapan couple who bought new e-bikes through the City of Boston’s e-bike incentive program.
Dr. Steven Leonard had been housebound since 2010, when a back surgery “that didn’t go as planned” left him unable to walk on his own.
Through Boston’s new e-bike incentive program, which offers vouchers worth $800 to $2,400 to defray the costs of purchasing an e-bike, Dr. Leonard obtained a new recumbent pedal-assist electric bike, while his wife bought a standard e-bike to join him on rides.
Now, the Leonards are exploring their neighborhood together for the first time in years – including rides on the Neponset River Greenway, which features prominently in the city’s video.
“We used to run,” says Dr. Leonard at the end of the video. “We’d run around Jamaica Pond, then all of that stopped. So now I’m back into running again. But I run with my e-bike.”
The City of Boston is opening up another round of applications for its e-bike voucher program this fall. Applications for adaptive e-bikes (designed for adults with chronic or permanent mobility limitations) are open now, and applications for standard and cargo e-bikes will open on October 1.
Program eligibility is limited to seniors over 60, adults with mobility limitations, or people from low-income households. Learn more at the City of Boston’s website.
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