This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Bike-share stations are not just growing in popularity in Salt Lake City, they are blossoming nationally, too.
The U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics reported Monday that 46 ride-share systems now operate in 65 cities nationally — and offer 2,655 bike-share stations.
The GREENbike system in Salt Lake City now offers 200 bikes at 24 stations, officials announced as its season began last month. It has seen significant growth in its four-year history.
GREENbike said that in 2015, 29,982 people bought 34,302 passes and rode 106,000 times — a 292 percent increase over 2014.
A $5 pass allows riders unlimited 30-minute trips over a 24-hour period; a $15 pass provides unlimited 30-minute trips over four days; and a $75 pass gives riders unlimited 60-minute trips for the entire operating season, which was 266 days last year.
In addition, GREENbike offers an office-pass program that allows members of groups to buy individual season passes for $25.
The new federal study said that most bike-share stations nationally are designed to connect with public bus or train systems.
It said 86.3 percent of all bike-share stations are within one block of a public-transit station. Another 9 percent are within two blocks.
"These connections extend the transportation network," the study said, as a "means for reaching destinations not served by scheduled public transportation."
The study said only five of the bike-share systems nationally operate in more than one city. For example, the Capital Bikeshare system in the Washington, D.C., area serves 11 cities, and Red Bike in the Cincinnati area serves four.