JACKSON HOLE, WYO – Phase 1 of the START Bike Share field trial program, which began in late April, is complete. The light-turquois colored bikes around town are part of a high-tech, new-tech public transit system being tested in Jackson Hole.
A small, select group of Jackson residents were invited to “field trial” the system for the past 40 days. These alpha testers provided important technical feedback to START Bike Share and BCycle, a Trek subsidiary. BCycle has collected and analyzed data from Phase 1 and is currently updating the firmware on the bikes.
BCycle expects to begin Phase 2 of the field trial in mid-June. Phase 2 is intended to allow public usage of the bicycles. “We are fine tuning the system,” said Bob Burns, President of BCycle. “We may deploy and pull the bikes periodically based on what we learn. This is the most sophisticated product we have ever developed and we are super excited about the user-experience,” Burns said.
START director Darren Brugmann said, “We are pleased to be working with BCycle on this field trial. Jackson is the first city in the world to feature the BCycle DASH and we are looking forward to Phase 2 of the field trial and to the launch of the full 50 bike system at the end of this summer. When fully optimized, START Bike will be a fantastic way to move people around the Town of Jackson, giving locals and visitors an option to avoid traffic congestion”
