JACKSON HOLE, WYO – The trial run for a popular bike-sharing program sponsored by the town ended last week and the result is in: we’re going full scale next spring.
START Bike JH concluded its demo season on Friday, September 22. According to town spokesperson Carl Pelletier, the trial system demonstrated a strong interest and excitement for the program in Jackson from both visitors and locals. A permanent system, funded by Energy Conservation Works and Teton Conservation District, will hit the road next spring with 55 bicycles.
During the summer, 271 accounts were opened and more than 4,000 trips were taken. More memberships were sold to people with non-local zip codes; about 75% of the members used a non-local zip code when registering for the program. However, 60% of the logged trips were taken by members with local zip codes. This usage pattern is in line with bike share ridership in other cities, where bike share serves as an essential service for locals, while also providing access to short-term transportation options for visitors.
The trial program was offered at a reduced rate of $5 for the summer. With only 20 bikes on the streets, the program was much smaller than the size of the permanent system that will be installed next spring, yet the response was encouraging.
Bike system shows that it is a great option to get around in Jackson during the busiest hours of the summer,” said Scott Horn, START board chair. “We’re excited to be a part of making summer travel more convenient and to be providing commuters with more options to compliment our town and commuter bus services.”
BCycle, a subsidiary of Trek Bicycles, chose Jackson as the first community to test a brand new app and bicycle called the Dash, a smart bike with all the brains built into the bike, not into a station.
