A group of applicants compete for a chance to have a coupon worth up to $2,000 for the California e-bike incentive program triggered a bug on the program’s website, thus preventing everyone from applying.
Officials said they have fixed the fault for the next round of filing next week.
The California e-bike incentive program launched by the California Air Resources Commission is designed to help lower cost barriers to address alternative transportation methods such as E-bikes, with the aim of driving cars off the vehicle and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Qualified residents must be at least 18 years of age and have a family income of less than 300% of the federal poverty level. Vouchers can be used to purchase electric bikes.
Website failure is the second website involving e-bike programs.
In December, the first service method of choosing applicants was overwhelmed by the system, and the online application program closed after 45 minutes.
On April 29, if they join the online waiting list between 5pm and 6pm, a second round of application is scheduled to be accepted by qualified Californians, and everyone on the waiting list will be placed on a random order and lined up to apply for a voucher.
But Reddit users who join the waiting list at 6pm will automatically see a message notifying them that "technical issues prevent all interested applicants from entering the queue."
The California Air Resources Commission said the website they planned experienced a lot of traffic that day and regarded it as suspicious activity.
“As a result, automatic safety measures were taken by third-party administrators of the California Air Resources Commission and the site was temporarily unavailable,” said Lisa Macuber, a spokesman for the state agency.
MacUmber says the technology is never 100% sure and can happen under any administrator running such programs.
Macumber said 150,000 people on the site tried to enter the program's online waiting room.
“It’s like getting tickets to a Taylor Swift concert, it’s hard to get through this technology and then at the end of the day, find out if you’ve succeeded,” she said. “So we really understand the frustration.”
The agency has rescheduled its second application window on May 29 and said it is ready to attract potential applicants this time.
When potential applicants join the waiting room on May 29, they will automatically direct it to a virtual waiting room separate from the program website.
To avoid future problems, the California Air Resources Commission and its partner Pedals hired Akamai Technologies, a cybersecurity and cloud computing company, and Queue-IT, a company that manages traffic jams on the website to manage and host virtual waiting rooms.
“Both companies are industry leaders in the field and work with some of the largest companies in the world to ensure and manage large amounts of data and traffic.[They]will ensure a safe and reliable customer experience.”
The California E-Bike Incentive Program has $2 million available to provide 1,000 vouchers for the second application window.
To date, the program has approved 1,022 vouchers worth more than $2 million, while 90% of the vouchers have been redeemed.
Interested applicants must enter the online waiting room between 5 and 6 p.m., and the program has not yet published a website for the next round of applications.
To view the eligibility requirements, visit the California E-Bike Incentive Program website for more information.
All individuals entering the waiting room by 6 p.m. will be randomly placed in the cohort and have an equal opportunity to access a limited number of applicants.