A year after Lakeland starting its bicycle ride-share program, city officials are remaining hopeful the program will catch on. 

  • Lakeland bike share prgram started last year
  • Zagster Swan City bike rider memberships at about 800
  • LEARN MORE: Zagster Swan City bikeshare

After some initial optimism when the Zagster Swan City bikes hit the street in 2016, interest has fallen off.

According to Lakeland Downtown Development Director Julie Townsend, memberships have stalled at about 800 people with only about 200 regular riders. 

"If I were a sponsor I wouldn’t be jumping up and down of the ridership numbers to be honest," Townsend said. "But we knew it was going to be a hard sell for the community. We are very dependent on our cars."

But a technology change may help boost the number of riders. Officials are hopeful a new, easier to use lock system will help. Punching in a code will now allow for quicker access to the bikes, getting riders on their way much faster. 

There are seven bike stations in and around downtown Lakeland. 

There are a variety of annual or monthly membership prices riders can sign up for. 

New riders can try the service for free currently, using the SWANCITY promo code on the Zagster web site.