Park City Transit estimates area commuters collectively saved over $100,000 this winter by choosing green transportation.
Over 3,300 residents participated in the Winter Commuter Rewards Campaign using Ride On, the city’s online platform where users can log trips they’ve made by bike, bus, even walking — anything other than a single-occupancy vehicle trip, otherwise known as driving a car alone. The Ride On tool also identifies users who share similar commutes and connects them to suggest carpooling, so ride share options count, too.
Each mode of transportation earns you different point values, and for the winter reward campaign, the city awarded a $1,500 grand prize for the user with the most points accrued from December to April. Second place received $1,000.
The incentives seemed to work. Users logged 350,639 miles across 26,000 trips from December to April. Taking the miles logged with a standard per-mile cost estimate, the city figures that $100,000 saved.
Steve Dennis, an employee for the city’s engineering team, said the program helped remind him that it’s good to not always travel by car.
“When traveling around town, I prefer riding the bus and walking. Both give me the flexibility to listen to audiobooks, clear my head, or even take the occasional work call,” Dennis said. “Aside from saving money on fuel, my mental health was improved because I was able to use my commute as bonus time to do something I wanted to do instead of focusing on the road.”
This engagement is the kind of shift the city was hoping for as part of its quest to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and traffic congestion around town. The tracking program, started in 2019, builds on the rising popularity of apps such as Strava that incorporate a social network with measuring physical exercise.
“The Ride On program started to add a level of fun and reward community members for choosing an alternative to single-occupant vehicles,” said Clayton Scrivner, the city’s communications manager. “This is all about reducing traffic and congestion. If you throw in some fun and competition too, how cool is that?”
It’s not the first time the city has tried to add extra incentives for sustainable commuting.
“When we compared the results to our last Winter Commuters Rewards campaign, the participation numbers were similar, but we did see a positive increase of about 1,000 additional trips during this most recent campaign,” Scrivner said.
The program also provides a framework for local businesses to encourage alternative commuting. During the winter campaign, Park City Mountain, Deer Valley Resort and the Park City Chamber were the top three employer networks. Park City Municipal finished fourth, itself having 193 employees participate and log 1,500 trips and 36,600 miles.
“Working together with our businesses, we continue to see positive momentum in our local resident and employee commuting patterns,” said Park City Manager Matt Dias. “Every trip logged in this challenge represents a conscientious choice to help lessen traffic and congestion in our community.
The city may also offer another similar program next winter. They run shorter campaigns, too, such as “Try Transit Week,” which features events around town like free yoga and pickleball classes, live music performances on the bus, transit chats with city leaders and tracking challenges with more prizes.
Park City Transit also has started rolling out e-ink displays at select bus stops around town, which should give riders more info on bus schedules.
“These smart signs will give you real-time arrival information, route maps and timetables, and more,” Park City Transit wrote on its Instagram page. “No more guessing when your bus will arrive — these e-inks have it all. We can’t wait for you to see them in action.”
Residents can also submit feedback for stops where they’d like to see an e-ink display installed.
“The Transportation and Transit Departments are always looking to improve the transportation experience in the community,” Scrivner said. “We are already looking towards next winter to see what will be most beneficial for the traveling public. The next ‘Try Transit’ event is expected this fall.”