Summit Bike Share members had an impressive 2024 season.
Between May and October, riders traveled more than 74,000 miles and burned approximately 4.1 million calories, offsetting 30 tons of carbon dioxide emissions across 18,000 individual rides. It was the longest season the Bike Share has had so far with an opening date seven weeks earlier than in 2023.
It was also the first full year Summit County ran the program without a third-party service provider, and Transportation Planning Director Carl Miller said the county plans to build upon its success even more in 2025.
“I think sometimes the previous service provider had made it as a tourist amenity, but we’re really trying to better integrate into the community and make this something that locals can see as an option for them to get around the community rather than just jumping in their vehicles,” Miller explained. “We have High Valley Transit and Park City Transit that do an amazing job. This can also help with those first and last miles or just those recreational rides where it’s a beautiful sunny day in the summer and you want to get out and get some fresh air.”
As part of Summit Bike Share’s outreach to local residents, the county added two stations in 2024 — Lincoln Station and Park City Hospital. Miller said the transportation department is exploring changes in membership pricing, too.
“We’re looking at reducing the price threshold so it’s more accessible for a lot of people in the community, as well as providing other opportunities, like maybe a free ride day or other opportunities,” he said, “so people can at least try out the bikes and hopefully have a good experience and want to come back to that and default to that as one of their transportation options in the community. We think it’s really the most healthy, best way to get around, both for an individual and for the air quality and traffic.”
The transportation department also hopes to partner with local businesses to sponsor helmet racks and bolster the program’s financial health.
“That way, we can make sure people are riding safely and they have quick and accessible helmets when they check out a bike,” Miller said. “We’re looking for additional station sponsors that can help us with making sure that we have stations in all the areas that people would like to ride, and then we’re looking at better ways to advertise on the bikes, doing decals or wraps, so that businesses can have some moving billboards and really market their product as well as help us with the financial sustainability of the program.”
Based on feedback from its end-of-year survey in 2023, Summit Bike Share decommissioned 60 bikes in 2024 because of safety concerns. Miller said there was a noticeable difference in the community’s perception of the bikes in 2023 compared to 2024 as a result.
“We heard a lot of good feedback from the surveys,” he said. “The quality of the bikes has improved. We have a great operations team that has made sure that these bikes are in great condition. All winter season, they’ve been stripping these bikes down and fixing them to their highest capability, and the sentiment from the community was that the bikes are more reliable and consistent and in better shape than they’ve ever been. We’re trying to set the highest of standards for our bikes.”
Miller said Summit Bike Share aims to open its season sometime in mid-May, but an official date has not been set yet. He encouraged residents and tourists alike to take advantage of the program, especially as the county continues to improve the quality and availability of the service.
“While there are a lot of different ways to get around the community, the Bike Share is the best one to see the beautiful area that we live in and that people come from all around the world to see,” he said. “You can go at your own pace. You can stop and take pictures of yourself or the mountains or the beautiful scenery, and the whole time you’re doing that, you’re getting light physical activity. It really is the best way to enjoy the community and get some recreation.”