*MEDIA RELEASE*
Contact:
Downtown Alliance
Nick Como
Nick Como
(385) 225-7101
GREENbike: SLC’s BIKE SHARE TO CLOSE FOR SEASON DECEMBER 15
After a successful first year, program set to expand next spring
December 10, 2013 (Salt Lake City) – GREENbike, Salt Lake City’s non-profit bike share program will close for the season on December 15. In it’s inaugural season the 12 downtown stations and 65 GREENbikes’s saw 26,000 trips and more than 6,100 users. This shared bike network, designed to interface with existing public transportation, collectively burned 3 million calories and was responsible for reducing 52,000 automobile miles that would have otherwise been driven.
GREENbike is a 501c3 non-profit which provides a public transit enhancement for the last mile of a trip, as well providing a system to run errands or travel to points of interest and businesses. Stations are strategically located around Salt Lake City to create a network of zero emission transportation opportunities. Additionally, bicycle travel helps reduce traffic congestion and road maintenance expenses, incentivizes downtown living, infill development and improves air quality.
Salt Lake City’s bike share is set to expand again next spring with seven new stations. Every new and existing bike share station will be 30% larger than they were in 2013 to accommodate demand. Organizers expect to have almost three times as many bikes available to system users. The program was launched in April 2013 with title sponsor Select Health, in partnership with Salt Lake City, Visit Salt Lake, UTA, Redevelopment Agency of SLC and numerous other sponsors. The initial launch included 55 bicycles and ten stations. Due to strong membership sales and user demand, two more stations were added in July, as well as 20 additional bikes.
“We’re seeing unprecedented usage for a system our size. Every GREENbike has been used 400 times since April. With only 12 stations, the GREENbike program has the highest per bike usage of any bike share system in the country with less than 50 stations.” said Ben Bolte, GREENbike Director. “We’re incredibly optimistic that we’ll be able to locate expansion funding each year. This is the least expensive public transportation project that yields easily quantifiable results and makes our existing public transit infrastructure easier to use."
A bike share program is a network of public bike share stations where anyone can checkout a bike to get from point A to point B. Stations are located near major downtown employment centers, entertainment destinations and transit hubs. Once a bike is docked at a station, it is available for other to use instead of being chained or tucked away in an office. Shared bikes are either being ridden or are available for someone else. The system benefits visitors, commuters and residents in the downtown area acting as an enhancement to mass transit, such as TRAX and FrontRunner.
Bike share systems are not rentals. Instead the program works through memberships that range from $5 for 24-hour access to $75 for a year. Annual members will be able to use their memberships for 12 months, meaning if a pass was purchased in July, it will be valid for 12 months after the first bicycle checkout – well into next season. Bike share allows a member to take any bike from any station, as many times as you want, for 30 minutes at a time for no additional charge. The farthest distance between any two stations is well under a 30-minute trip.
More info available at:
The Downtown Alliance is dedicated to building a dynamic and diverse community that is the regional center for culture, commerce and entertainment. For more information, visit downtownslc.org
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Nick Como
Communication Director|Downtown Alliance
O 801-333-1105 | C 385-225-7101
175 E. University Blvd. (400 S.) Ste. 600, SLC, UT 84111
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