Members of the Ogden City Council briefly discussed the new system at their work session last week, with Councilperson Marcia White wondering what to make of the 420 figure.

“I don’t know if that’s a good number to be shooting for or a medium number,” White said at the Dec. 20 Ogden City Council meeting. White told her colleagues that she’d asked officials at the Wasatch Front Regional Council, the regional planning organization where she works, for their feedback.

City officials didn’t immediately respond to queries seeking comment on the program on Friday, the eve of the long Christmas weekend. But the report on the bike-sharing program provided to City Council members indicated the number of riders should be heading up.

“Administration expects the ridership to increase with the integration of ebikes,” the report reads. By next summer, 18 electric bicycles are to be added to the inventory of 60 traditional bikes at the six GREENbike stations currently in Ogden.

Tim Vandenack, Standard-Examiner

The system was implemented in Ogden thanks to a federal grant of $601,873 and $101,871 in city funding, according to the city report. A little over $540,000 of that money has been spent, with around $160,000 in federal grant funds left. The leftover funds will be tapped to buy the electric bicycles.

Users pay to use the bikes, and the Ogden system has generated around $60,000, according to the report. An additional $500,000 in federal grant funds will be pursued to add more stations to the Ogden network and get more electric bikes, probably in 2024 and 2025, according to the report.

City leaders formally unveiled the GREENbike system in Ogden on Aug. 5. It’s managed by GREENbike, a Salt Lake City-based nonprofit organization, and the aim is to foster bike use around the city center in and effort to improve connectivity, reduce reliance on autos and improve air quality. The program has operated for 10 years in Salt Lake City, where 40 bike stations are located.

Users check out bikes with a pass purchased online, via a mobile app or at a kiosk, travel to their destination and leave the bicycles at another nearby station. They are meant for transit mainly around the city center. Stations in Ogden are located at 26th Street and Washington Boulevard, 23rd Street and Washington Boulevard, 25th Street and Lincoln Avenue, 21st Street and Grant Avenue, Grant Avenue and Park Boulevard and the Utah Transit Authority FrontRunner station.

Bikes are still at the Ogden GREENbike stations despite the cold and snow. White said  they are kept out in the event of a warm spell and demand for their use.