Citi Bike

Development and delays

In an effort to reduce emissions, road wear, collisions, and road and transit congestion and to improve public health, the New York City Department of Transportation (NYCDOT) researched alternative forms of transportation, publishing a strategic plan in 2008. According to NYCDOT statistics, 56% of all automobile trips within the city are under 3 miles (4.8 km) (with 22% under 1 mile (1.6 km) and 10% under 0.5 miles (0.80 km)), well within distances readily served by bicycle. To encourage residents to use bicycles more, the city committed to expanding bike lane miles, bike racks, and bike-parking shelters. In the 2009 bicycle share feasibility report, the New York City Department of City Planning (DCP) recommended building out the system in three phases in the four most populous boroughs, but no timeline was made public. The city, which had already been encouraging cycling as transportation, decided to establish a bicycle share program of the kind that had seen success in other cities. In 2011, it selected Alta Bicycle Share to operate the bike share in New York City. Citi Bike was created as a public–private partnership operated by NYC Bike Share LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Alta.

The system, which was first supposed to start in fall 2011, got pushed back to summer 2012 due to uncertainties about where to place the rental stations (the city intended to place Citi Bike stalls mostly on sidewalks and public plazas, but there were some locations where stalls would take up parking spaces). The 2012 implementation date was only for Phase 1 of Citi Bike, with more phases to come later. The planned July 2012 start for Phase 1 was later delayed to March 2013 by software problems. These problems were also reported by Alta programs in Chicago and in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The problems reportedly occurred because the Public Bike System Company, a Canadian affiliate of Alta, and 8D Technologies, a software supplier, were in dispute. Then, Hurricane Sandy damaged 1,000 bicycles and 60 stations in storage at Brooklyn Navy Yard. As planning progressed, some residents expressed dismay at the lack of docking stations in their neighborhoods while others fought against stations on their blocks.

Deployment

Citi Bike finally began operations on May 27, 2013, with 332 stations in Manhattan south of 59th Street and in Brooklyn north of Atlantic Avenue and west of Nostrand Avenue. Officials said the system opened with 6,000 bikes. At the time of implementation, it was the largest bikesharing program in the United States. When launched, the system was slated to expand to 10,000 bicycles and 600 stations in Manhattan south of 79th Street, plus stations in several Brooklyn neighborhoods, including Greenpoint, Crown Heights, Bedford-Stuyvesant, Park Slope and Carroll Gardens as well as parts of Queens. At first, the timeline for the expansion was not made publicly available, but it was later announced that the expansion would be complete by the end of 2016. There has been increasing interest in further expansion across New York City; for example, in June 2013 a Brooklyn politician opened a petition drive to accelerate deployment in Greenpoint. In contrast, the May 2013 installation deliberately bypassed South Williamsburg.

Throughout the first year, there were more than 100,000 registered members who rode over 14,700,000 miles (23,700,000 km), including 70,000 members in the first three months alone. On August 6, 2013, riders took 42,010 trips, the largest single-day total for any North American bike-sharing system. In Citi Bike's first few months, some kiosks docked too many bikes while others did not have enough, so the city started using a fleet of box trucks to carry bikes between different kiosks every day. The kiosks also had some software problems in their early months. Problems included stations that did not accept payment information; other stations that did not work at all; kiosks where passersby could take bikes without paying because the bikes were not locked securely; and bike docks that did not work, forcing riders to travel to other stations.

Expansion

Citi Bike's massive, unexpected popularity caused problems within a year. In January 2014, the designer of Citi Bike's bicycles and docking stations filed for bankruptcy protection. Officials with Montreal, Quebec-based Public Bike System Company (also known as Bixi) said they were $46 million in debt, partly because the operators of Citi Bike and Chicago's Divvy bikeshare had withheld a combined $5 million in payments because of software glitches in the docking stations. Alta officials, who operate Citi Bike, Divvy, and Capital Bikeshare in Washington, D.C., said they anticipated no interruptions of service, though they did want $20 million to expand the system to 10,000 bikes and 600 stations. However, due to Citi Bike's various problems, expansions to the Upper East and Upper West Sides were delayed for at least a year. Its general manager resigned in March. The new mayor, Bill de Blasio, stated that he wanted to expand Citi Bike's reach, but that he could not make city funds available for such an expansion at that time.

Citi Bike workers joined Transport Workers Union of America Local 100 in July 2015. The company had about 200 employees joining the union at the time. On September 17, in the face of overwhelming support for unionization, Citi Bike agreed to recognize TWU Local 100's representation of Citi Bike's labor force.

On October 28, 2014, Alta Bicycle Share and NYCDOT announced a plan to improve and expand the Citi Bike program. Bikeshare Holdings LLC, a new entity formed by the partners at real estate developer Related Companies and gym chain Equinox Fitness, acquired Alta Bicycle Share—renamed Motivate—and named Jay Walder as the new chief executive. New investments include $5 million from Bikeshare Holdings, an increased sponsorship commitment from Citi of up to $70.5 million extended through 2024, and a $15 million increase in the credit facility from the Goldman Sachs Urban Investment Group. As part of the restructuring deal, Walder moved the company headquarters from Portland, Oregon, to New York City. The Citi Bike system will continue to be operated by NYC Bicycle Share, a subsidiary of Alta Bicycle Share. By 2017, the owners announced, Citi Bike will expand its operations by 6,000 bikes and add 375 new docking stations. This agreement also calls for improvements to the system's operations, including upgrades to its software and technology. Walder said the company would appoint a vice president for technology.

Following two years of software errors in the bike share system, Motivate shut down the Citi Bike system over the last weekend in March 2015 to replace the existing system software with that of 8D Technologies. Since then, the Citi Bike system has continued to expand its installations using the 8D Technologies as its software and station equipment supplier.

In early 2015, as part of its expansion, NYCDOT and Motivate increased the cost of annual memberships from $95 to $149 plus taxes, although annual rates for New York City Housing Authority residents and members of some Community Development Credit Unions will remain at $60 per year. That year, the company installed 91 new stations in Queens and Brooklyn, with 12 of these stations in Long Island City and the other 79 in Greenpoint, Williamsburg, and Bedford-Stuyvesant. Citi Bike also added 48 new stations on the Upper East and Upper West Sides, up to 86th Street. The system expanded across the Hudson River to Jersey City, New Jersey, on September 21, 2015, with 35 stations and 350 bikes. However, some Jersey City residents objected to the implementation of Citi Bike there, complaining of lost parking spots for cars. In July 2016, the Jersey City Citi Bike system was expanded for the first time, with another 15 stations and an additional 150 bikes.

In August 2016, the company started installing 139 new stations. This expansion added service in Manhattan up to 110th Street and in Brooklyn between Red Hook and Prospect Park. The stations in the new installation were closer together than in previous phases because the previous phases had not fulfilled National Association of City Transportation Officials' recommended bike share-station density of 28 per square mile (11/km²). Some residents of Park Slope were outspoken in opposition to the loss of car parking. One month later, on September 13, 2016, the system saw 64,672 trips, the highest ever recorded in one day. Citi Bike is expected to expand to Harlem and Astoria in 2017. Given that proposed expansion, some city politicians have proposed expanding the system further, to the Bronx and Staten Island. By the end of 2017, Citi Bike plans to double its bike fleet to 12,000, and as of November 2016, some of the expansion could possibly be publicly funded.

Company

Citi Bike is wholly private and is not funded by any subsidies from the city. Citigroup spent US$41 million to be its lead sponsor for six years, and in return was allowed to put its name on the bikes. However, the bikeshare is owned by NYC Bike Share LLC, a subsidiary of Alta Bicycle Share, Inc. Jay Walder is CEO of Bikeshare Holdings, which includes Alta Bicycle Share, and in turn, NYC Bike Share LLC and Citi Bike.

Citi Bike had 5,794,885 annual trips in 2013, increasing to 8,092,952 trips in 2014; 9,959,627 trips in 2015; and 14,087,576 trips in 2016. As of 2016 the bike share averaged 38,491 daily trips, up 41% from 2015. The majority of Citi Bike riders were male as of 2015, with women making a quarter of the trips and a third of membership.

On average, Citi Bike trips wholly within Midtown Manhattan are at least 2 miles per hour (3.2 km/h) faster, 2–3 minutes shorter, and $6 cheaper than a taxi between the same two points, with most taxi trips in that area being less than 1 mile (1.6 km) long. For trips between 1 and 1.5 miles (1.6 and 2.4 km) long, average Citi Bike trips are at least 5 minutes faster and $11.75 cheaper as opposed to the comparable taxi trip. Over half of all Citi Bike trips occur during rush hours as of 2016. However, in 2015, there were at least 10 times as many taxi trips as Citi Bike trips in Midtown during rush hour. The NYCDOT publishes a list of Citi Bike usage statistics on its website. In Citi Bike's first three years of operations, no one has died while riding a Citi Bike; this has been partly attributed to the bikes' design, as well as the higher concentration of cyclists on New York City roads before and since Citi Bike's launch.

Bikes

The bicycles are utility bicycles with a unisex step-through frame, which weighs about 45 pounds (20 kg). Their one-piece aluminum frame and handlebars conceal cables and fasteners in an effort to protect them from vandalism and bad weather; the handlebars are located above the seat, allowing riders to sit upright and thereby maintain balance. They are equipped with a Shimano Nexus three-speed, twist-shifter-operated internal geared hub, full mudguards/fenders and chainguard. The heavy-duty tires are puncture-resistant and filled with nitrogen to maintain proper inflation pressure longer. The tires are also wider, leading to increased stability. Twin LED rear lights of a pre-2015 design are integrated into the frame, whose bright-blue color increases the bikes' visibility. The bikes are designed by industrial designer Michel Dallaire and built in the Saguenay, Quebec, region by Cycles Devinci, with aluminum provided by Rio Tinto Alcan. Citi Bikes are slower than most utility bicycles, averaging only 8.3 miles per hour (13.4 km/h) as opposed to regular bicycles' average speed of 11 to 12 miles per hour (18 to 19 km/h), which increases safety due to a lowered risk of a high-speed collision. The bikes are assembled in Detroit.

In 2015, Ben Serotta helped redesign the bicycle to include a new seat, a simpler gear shifting mechanism, fewer and brighter lights, and a European-style center kickstand. However, in 2016, a thousand of the newly redesigned Citi Bikes were taken out of service due to a part in the front wheel degrading faster than expected. In early 2017, as part of a pilot program with a firm named Blaze, 250 bikes received anterior laser lights that project a teal silhouette on the ground to warn drivers and pedestrians in their path.

Citi Bike moves thousands of bikes each day from places where they accumulate to places where they are scarce. It sometimes uses box trucks to accomplish this task. Citi Bike members can also volunteer to move bikes from full to empty stations. These members, called "Bike Angels," can earn rewards such as gift cards and renewed membership for moving these bikes. Since the "Bike Angels" program started in May 2016, almost 2,000 members have participated.

If a user does not re-dock their bike within a certain time limit—45 minutes for members or 30 minutes for non-members time limit—they may be charged $2.50 for every 15 minutes of further use. If a bike not returned at all within 24 hours, a maximum "late fee" of $1,200 can be charged, though the fine may be reduced based on financial circumstances. In the event that a Citi Bike is lost or stolen, the member who last used it must file a theft report with the New York City Police Department within 24 hours, and they would be charged the maximum late fee. Late fees netted $5.2 million for Citi Bike from January to November 2015, comprising more than 15% of its revenue. In 2014, there were 300 reports of stolen Citi Bikes, which jumped to 476 reports in the first half of 2015 alone. Stolen bikes have been found in the Brooklyn neighborhoods of East New York, Crown Heights, and Brownsville, as well as upper Manhattan. However, at least one man has ridden a Citi Bike as far as California.

Payment

As of February 2017, yearly passes cost $163, or $14.95 per month with an annual commitment and $60, or $5 per month with an annual commitment, for NYCHA residents who are 16 or older. The original price of a Citi Bike annual membership was $95, but jumped to $149 in 2014 following the announcement of an expansion. Purchasers using a Citibank card receive a 10% discount when purchasing annual memberships through the Citi Bike website. Annual members receive a key and can make trips of up to 45 minutes without added charge. In 2014, Citi Bike announced that it was also exploring options for weekend, monthly, and tourist memberships.

Initial prices for passes sold at Citi Bike docking stations were $9.95 for a daily pass, and $25 for a weekly pass. Prices were eventually changed to $12 for a daily pass, and $24 for a three-day pass. Trips using these passes are limited to 30 minutes before extra fees kick in. The 8.875% New York State sales tax is added to the cost of all passes.

All payments are by credit card; Wageworks and Transitchek prepaid commuter cards are not accepted, as bike sharing programs do not qualify as eligible commuting expenses under US tax law.

Complaints

When Citi Bike first launched, some local bike shops in tourist areas reported a decline in their bike rental business, and some complained that Citi Bike's advertising was misleading tourists. At least one bike shop owner said that he was forced to close down his business in 2014 due to the popularity of Citi Bike.

Some people disliked the bright blue color and branding of the bicycles, while others pointed out that the stations blocked fire hydrants on the street. The concrete wheel stops at the end of each kiosk also poses a hazard, as these barriers act as a sudden, sharp speed bump. Another complaint was that bike stations take up car parking space for each eight bikes, a sentiment repeated in future stall installations.