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The GREENbike share program arrives for another season

If you live, work, or are planning to enjoy downtown Salt Lake City this season, you can gain access to a GREENbike starting Tuesday, March 31.

 

According to the Downtown Alliance, 6,100 people used the system in 2013, and officials said the program has seen a 100-percent growth the following year. They also revealed the bike share program helped commuters avoid over 54-thousand automobile miles, and over 3-million calories were burned by riders in the process.

 

What is GREENbike?

With a bike share program, urban riders can get from point A to point B by using a high-quality “community” bicycle instead of a vehicle or walking long distances. These bikes are docked at stations across the city, and are available for members to use. When a member finishes with a bike, they can easily dock it and move on. There’s no need to wait in line or lock it away. GREENbike says they offer a service that enhances Salt Lake’s mass transit system of FrontRunner and TRAX.

Here’s how it works— you can purchase an annual or 4-day pass online, or a 24-hour pass at the stations with your credit card. Then grab a bike from any Bike Share station.

The bikes are one size fits all, which means if you’re 4′ 6″ to 6′ 4″, you’ll probably fit. While they’re designed for quick trips around Salt Lake City, they won’t take you into the mountains.

The system is a public/private partnership between the Salt Lake City Downtown Alliance, the Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce and Salt Lake City.

 

GREENbike extras

Besides the benefits of exercise and fresh air, there are a few cool perks to using SLC’s bike share program. When you sign up for an annual membership, you gain access to an online user profile that keeps track of the calories that you’ve burned while on the bike, the distances you have traveled, and also your carbon offset.

If you’re wondering where the bicycle share docks are, or specifically how many bikes are available at those docks, check out the Spotcycle app for iPhone, Android and BlackBerry devices. The app can show you a list of the ten nearest bike stations, record and map out your bike route by using your device’s GPS, and even the top rated and top viewed bike routes from other Spotcycle members.

 

GREENbike map

Do you use the city’s GREENbike system? Share your comments below!