The sidewalks were getting busier in downtown San Francisco this week as Salesforce employees returned to working in the office full time.

For Zachary Taylor who manages 83 Proof — a bar just across the street from Salesforce Tower — a full happy hour crowd on a Wednesday was a nice sight.

“I’m seeing faces that I haven’t seen in a while coming back right now and, you know, names on credit card tabs I haven’t seen in a while so that’s always a good sign,” said Taylor.

Like so many businesses in the area, 83 Proof has been profoundly impacted by the large number employees still working from home since the pandemic instead of returning to the office.

This week brought a major change, with Salesforce now requiring most employees to come back to the building. That is music to Taylor’s ears.

“As Salesforce returns, Linked-In returns, some of the law offices. Other companies and AI companies start taking over some of the office space. We’ll just start seeing more normalcy towards a pre-pandemic level,” said Taylor.

Down the street just a block, the people working at International Smoke couldn’t agree more. They said in just the two days since Salesforce employees were required to come back, they’ve noticed a big difference.

“I’ve seen a lot more traffic outside, which is nice. I think people are still getting their bearings straight coming back to the office, so we haven’t necessary seen them come into the office quite yet. It’s only been two days, but you know, we have signs out. We’ve gone by yesterday saying, ‘Hey, we’re here! Come back to us!’” said International Smoke general manager Jose Gorospe.

Gorospe says he expects bigger crowds to start coming in as soon as people get settled into their office routines again.

Back at 83 Proof, Zachary anticipates a similar increase in customers. He says their crowds are still a bit below pre-pandemic levels, but just the fact that people are back working in the area will make a big difference.

“I’m hoping to see about a 10 to 15 percent bump as more and more people get acclimated to going back to the office more and more,” said Taylor.

Bar customer Klara Viktorynova told CBS News Bay Area she also works at a nearby restaurant. She was at 83 Proof celebrating her birthday and said she was happy to see the place filled up with people having a good time.

“I think it’s great to see a lot of professionals that are enjoying themselves. There are so many places in San Francisco that have started doing happy hours that were previously not doing happy hours, just to get a little bit more crowd in. And it’s a wonderful place to be,” said Viktorynova.

Flanked by advocates and bike shop owners, Board of Supervisors President Aaron Peskin announced a proposal to create an e-bike rebate program for San Francisco on the Polk Steps at City Hall. The program would provide a rebate at the cash register for approved e-bikes and would be administered by the San Francisco Environment Department. 

“I want to ensure that all San Francisco families, especially those underserved by transit, can access this sustainable way to drop off their kids at school, which makes all our children safer,” said Peskin. “This is an important step toward an inclusive carbon-free future.”

Over 3,500 people wrote to the Supervisors asking for this program through an alert set up by Streets Forward. Executive Director Luke Bornheimer is asking people to continue to follow the action page for updates on how to get and/or stay involved in the campaign as the legislation moves through the Board of Supervisors.

“We’re excited to continue working with public officials to secure funding for the e-bike incentive program and looking forward to getting e-bike incentives in the hands of San Franciscans as soon as possible,” continued Bornheimer.

E-bike rebate programs have been tried in other cities, including Pasadena, Austin, and Denver. E-bikes usage has made bicycling accessible to people who are unable to ride regular bicycles due to age or physical limitations. So far, there’s not a magic-formula or best practice that ensures a program’s long-term survival and there’s been some variety in how programs are administered. In Santa Monica, for example, buyers have to pre-qualify for the program and take a voucher with them when buying a bike. Other programs have people apply for a rebate after the bike is already purchased.

And price is a major barrier for people looking to potentially purchase an E-Bike – even less-expensive ones cost over $1,000 after taxes and fees.

The announcement comes months after a smaller E-Bike rebate program run by the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission closed after the popular program ran out of funds. That program saw the PUC partner with six bike shops to provide up to $1,000 in rebate to people that met a certain income requirement. The program didn’t even last a full month, it was active from March 23 to April 20, as demand for less expensive E-bikes overwhelmed the program.

“Our e-bike incentive program will help save San Franciscans money and break down barriers so more people can access e-bikes to improve San Francisco’s air quality and reduce congestion,” said Supervisor Dean Preston, who co-authored the legislation. “This program is a critical part of making our city more livable and equitable by supporting San Franciscans with the transition to an e-bike.”

The full details and funding for the program aren’t known yet, but yesterday’s event outlined goals for the program that include making sure the fund is used by those with the greatest need and allowing for people to donate to the rebate fund (to supplement the city coffers). The goals as outlined in a press statement are

• Accept funds from City appropriations, grants from local, state, and federal sources, and private donations. The program will also be eligible for funding from the San Francisco County Transportation Authority (SFCTA)’s Transportation Demand Management program and the Equity Priority Transportation Program of the Prop L transportation sales tax.
• Use funds for point-of-sale rebates at local retailers for both standard and family/cargo e-bikes as well as adaptive mobility devices for people with disabilities. 
• Set a goal of 40% of funds going to low-income communities, communities underserved by transit, and communities disproportionately impacted by air pollution.
• Limit incentives only for fire-safe devices to help San Franciscans replace unsafe devices with safe ones, and advance San Francisco’s lithium-ion safety protections, developed by President Peskin earlier this year.

“The SF Bicycle Coalition is excited to see this program prioritize equity-priority communities. We know these communities bear the brunt of climate change and are incredibly underserved by bike infrastructure and public transportation. An e-bike incentive program would make safety-certified e-bikes more easily available to low-income folks who otherwise could not afford them. This fund is the first step towards dramatically transforming the way people get around in our city, and we look forward to working with the SF Department of Environment on the program,”  said Claire Amable, Director of Advocacy at the SF Bicycle Coalition.

The ordinance will have its first hearing later this month, at the Board of Supervisors Land Use and Transportation committee. Creating a program that is equitable and long-lasting can be a difficult task, California’s rebate program has been delayed for over two years. But for people who’s lives will be made easier if E-Bikes become more affordable the city’s willingness to move on their own program is a good step forward.

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — The race for San Francisco mayor is on and the top four candidates are making their case ahead of Election Day.

ABC7 News teamed up with our media partner The San Francisco Standard and their political and business reporter Annie Gaus, along with Kara Swisher, author and host of the “On with Kara Swisher” podcast to talk to those candidates about the issues facing the city, like crime, homelessness, the economy, tourism, and the recovery of downtown.

How will the candidates make things better? That’s what we wanted to know.

Instead of a traditional debate, we wanted to provide our audience with more depth. So, we invited the top four candidates to join us for in-person interviews.

Watch the videos below to see how each candidate answered tough questions from Reggie, Annie, and Kara.

Mayor London Breed

Mark Farrell

Here’s what San Francisco mayoral candidate Mark Farrell had to say about tackling crime, homelessness, the economy and more.

Daniel Lurie

Here’s what San Francisco mayoral candidate Daniel Lurie had to say about tackling crime, homelessness, the economy and more.

Supervisor Aaron Peskin

Here’s what San Francisco mayoral candidate Aaron Peskin had to say about tackling crime, homelessness, the economy and more.