Park City carpool program cuts back vehicle emissions, saves commuters thousands

PARK CITY, Utah — ‘Ride On,’ the Park City carpool program designed to cut back on greenhouse gas emissions and alleviate traffic congestion, accounted for 350,639 miles of multi-person transportation between Dec. 1 2024 and March 31, 2025. 

According to Park City Municipal, the program transferred 26,000 single-occupancy vehicle trips to public transit or carpools. 

Clayton Scrivner, the communications manager for Park City, said 8.9 tons of CO2 were reduced this year during the program. 

The city also said the program saved participants an estimated $100,000 on costs related to single-occupancy vehicles. 

Single-occupancy vehicle trips occur any time a driver goes somewhere without any passengers. 

How does the Park City carpool program work? 

The city said the program was started in 2019. It’s available to those who live and work in Summit County, as well as those who visit. 

Participants can track their trips on the program website or through Strava, Waze and CommuteTrack, according to Park City.  

Park City Manager Matt Dias said the program has made a positive impact. The city’s two ski resorts, Deer Valley and Park City Mountain, were among the top three businesses to encourage the use of the carpool program.

Rounding out the list was the Park City Chamber, an organization that works to drive economic growth, promote educational programs and sustainable tourism, and manage visitor impacts. 

“Working together with our businesses, we continue to see positive momentum in our local resident and employee commuting patterns,” Dias said. 

Dias expressed pride in Park City Municipal employees, saying 193 of them participated in this year’s Park City carpool program. They logged “more than 1,500 trips this winter.” Their trips were equal to 36,600 miles of single-occupancy vehicle travel. 

Park City carpool program participants log trips to earn prizes 

Additionally, participants who logged their points were entered into a race for grand prizes. 

The program website defines a trip as a “one-way journey.” For each trip taken with sustainable transportation means, such as public transportation, biking, carpooling or walking, participants earn points. 

For example, if you logged a walk to the grocery store, that would count as one trip. Logging a walk back home would count as a second. 

At the end of the season, the participant with the most points was awarded $1,500 in cash. The second-place winner received $1,000, according to the Ride On website. 

“Every trip logged in this challenge represents a conscientious choice to help lessen traffic and congestion in our community,” said Dias. 

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