GREENbike brings bike-sharing program to Ogden
OGDEN — GREENbike has come to Ogden, furthering the city’s initiative to become a walkable, rideable community.
During a ribbon-cutting ceremony Friday morning at the corner of Washington Boulevard and 26th Street, Ogden City Mayor Mike Caldwell was among those to speak about the long-awaited bike-share program, which started in Salt Lake City.
“It was an eight-year effort by a lot of people,” he said.
Ogden is starting out with six bike docking locations, but GREENbike Executive Director Stan Penfold said the company can tell it’s are going to need more based on all the attention the program is getting.
While a map of Ogden docking sites is not yet available on the GREENbike website, greenbikeutah.org, signage lists locations at Grant Avenue and Park Boulevard; 21st Street and Grant; 23rd Street and Wall Avenue; 23rd and Washington Boulevard; 25th Street and Lincoln Avenue; and 26th Street and Washington.
GREENbike has been operational in Salt Lake City for 10 years. There are currently 40 stations with more on the way.
Since its inception in 2013, Utah’s only nonprofit bike-share has reportedly offset more than 5.8 million pounds of carbon dioxide from entering the air, prevented more than 6.4 million vehicle miles from impacting local roads and helped residents burn more than 79.1 million calories.
According to Penfold, because the program’s main purpose is to act as a go-between to and from existing transit infrastructure, it is more beneficial in mid-sized cities. However, larger cities such as New York City and Chicago have successful bike-share programs.
In addition to serving as a mechanism to increase use in public transportation, bike-sharing is said to improve overall community health and air quality, the latter of which being a concern in Northern Utah.
“It is certainly an initiative along the Wasatch Front,” Caldwell said of the bike-share program.
Ogden City Councilwoman Marcia White said she is “super stoked” to see her community growing up and offering access to alternative transportations opportunities for people who need them.
GREENbike, in partnership with SelectHealth, Salt Lake City, the Utah Transit Authority and other private sponsors, is dedicated to offering the community an affordable, convenient and sustainable transportation option.
Currently, it costs $7 for a GREENbike day pass, although Penfold said they will be reviewing fee structures sometime in the near future to make it as affordable as possible for everyone in the community.
GREENbike is offering a free day pass with a promotion code — 1574514. While the promo code can be used for the same bike for an entire day, riders will have to return to a GREENbike station to reset time to continue to ride at no charge.
Bikes may be rented from any station and returned to any station. For now, only classic bikes are available at Ogden stations, but eventually e-bikes will included “to help tackle the hills,” Penfold said.
Bringing the program to Ogden took a lot of work and many partnerships said White, the regional economic development planner for the Wasatch Front Regional Council.
Grateful for the many partnerships in making the GREENbike launch a reality in Ogden, Caldwell said as long as WFRC continues to do the work, he will continue to make noise.
“We think it is going to immensely successful,” Penfold said.
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- Ogden City Councilwoman Marcia White is pictured on Friday, Aug. 5, 2022, following the GREENbike ribbon-cutting ceremony as she prepares to take a bike ride.
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- Bikes are lined up at a GREENbike station at the corner of Washington Boulevard and 26th Street during a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Friday, Aug. 5, 2022, to celebrate the ride-share program coming to Ogden. A map of the six GREENbike stations in Ogden is shown.
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- A ribbon-cutting ceremony is held for GREENbike, a new bike-sharing program, on Friday, Aug. 5, 2022, at the corner of Washington Boulevard and 26th Street in Ogden.
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- GREENbike Executive Director Stan Penfold teaches Ogden City Marketing and Communications Manager Mike McBride how to use the GREENbike app following a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Friday, Aug. 5, 2022.
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- GREENbike Executive Director Stan Penfold teaches Ogden City Marketing and Communications Manager Mike McBride how to use the GREENbike app following a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Friday, Aug. 5, 2022.