Lakeland's year-old bike share program will need to get more paying riders or it may not survive.
The Zagster Swan City program started with some optimism last year but ridership has stalled.
- About 800 people currently signed up for program
- Sponsors may not renew if ridership doesn't improve
"If I were a sponsor I wouldn't be jumping up and down of the ridership numbers to be honest," said downtown development director Julie Townsend.
Townsend said there are about 800 people signed up for the program that costs $5 for one day or $25 for a yearly membership. Riders download the Zagster app to their smart phones and then put in a bicycle number to unlock the bike.
Most of the bikes are in downtown, the Dixieland area or at Florida Southern College.
The question is whether there will be a demand for the program in the near future.
"But we knew it was going to be a hard sell for the community. We are very dependent on our cars," Townsend said.
Townsend is hoping a new, easier to use lock system will make the program more popular. If ridership doesn't improve, the initial two-year sponsors may not renew.
"So we're going to have to go back to them and have that talk and see if we can figure out. I would rather see that spread out among other folks rather than go back to the same people," Townsend said.