Buy a Bike and Get 60% of Your Money Back, Italy Tells Its People

Italy is offering its citizens plenty of incentives to opt for bicycling – including giving them up to 500 euros back for buying one!

The 120-million-euro “Buono Mobilità” – or “alternative mobility” – program involves having the state give buyers 60% of the price they paid for their bicycle, up to 500 euros. The funding comes from the hefty 170 billion euros flowing to Italy as part of the EU Recovery Fund.

Additionally, 30 municipalities across the Emilia-Romagna region are planning to add on more incentives to the program, from giving cyclists up to 50 euros a month for commuting to work, to adding 250 kilometers of new cycling paths, to providing cyclists who take the train with grants to buy folding bicycles that can be transported on the train for free.