Bike Share Program

pragmaticguy · May 2012

According to Bloomberg.com Citibank is sponsoring the NYC Bike Share Program and has donated $41 million. They are giving the program 10,000 bikes with the Citibank logo on them. I still don't think it's going to get shareholders to change their minds about giving CEO Pandit a raise though.

whynot_31 · May 2012

I just hope that the person who is next mayor (Christine Quinn?) is able to successfully solicit similar funds.

...At this point, I'm lucky enough to actually own my bike, and have no plans to put a Citibank logo on it.

pragmaticguy · May 2012

Mastercard is also chipping in $6.5 mil to donate paypass tap and go and magnetic strip readers at the locations. According to the article it's $95 a year to join and then there's the daily/weekly rental options. In addition, there's a higher fee if you're renting for more than 45 minutes at a time. Doesn't seem too economical to me.

whynot_31 · May 2012

$100 a year might be worth the luxury of not having to schlep a bike up five floors into one's tiny apartment.

...likewise, participants will not have to constantly replace parts that are stolen from leaving it on the street overnight.

I suspect people will also use them as "second bikes", for use when a friend comes to visit and wants to ride around the park.

pragmaticguy · May 2012

But, it's not just $100 a year. It's that plus rental fees. So, if you're making a few stops it's going to run more than 45 minutes which leads to a higher charge. I'm not saying it's a bad thing, but like ZipCar it's probably best used as a sometime thing.

bohuma · May 2012

I've already worked this out, having used Montreal's Bixi Bikes. My bike got stolen from our condo building last year, it was locked to one of those hooks, but the thief (professional) busted the lock. I am planning to ride the bike share home from mid-town a couple days a week. It should work out okay, I plan to stop half way to change bikes so that I can do the trip without passing the 45 minute mark.

The idea is that you ride from one docking station to the next. So if you want to ride from Downtown Brooklyn, to Chinatown for lunch, you pull a bike out, return it in Chinatown and pick up another one for the trip home.

pragmaticguy · May 2012

Just heard this morning that because Citibank donated so much dough they get to call the bikes "Citibikes." So, for all those renting beware that you're becoming a rolling billboard. Hopefully this bike share program will become too big to fail as well.