Frequently Asked Questions
- What is bike share? What are its key elements and features?
- Why launch bike share?
- Who can use bike share?
- How did you decide on the locations?
- Is it just Manhattan/why this area and not others?
- When and where will you release the map of the station sites?
- What if someone gets to a full station and can't park their bike or a station has no bikes?
- What is the smart-phone app for that?
- Are there jobs? How do people find out?
- Is bike share safe?
- What if a Citi Bike gets stolen?
- What's the replacement cost of a bike?
- What happens if someone crashes and is injured?
- Who is liable if there is a crash or other problem?
- What is the price?
- What about low income New Yorkers?
- How will people get helmets?
- Is City government running bike share?
- Who is paying for it?
- What other cities have bike share – how do they compare?
What is bike share? What are its key elements and features?
Bike sharing systems are fleets of specially designed, heavy-duty, very durable bikes that are locked into a network of docking stations sited at regular intervals around a city. People can access the bikes by becoming long- or short-term members. Annual members enroll on-line and receive a key that is similar in shape and size to a flash drive. It can be applied to any dock at any station to release a bike. For 1 or 7 day memberships, people can sign up at any station kiosk with a credit card. The bikes can be returned to any station in the system, creating an efficient network with many possible points and combinations of departure and arrival.
Top of page
Why launch bike share?
New York City is introducing bike share in order to provide New Yorkers with more options for getting around the city. 54% of all trips made in NYC are less than two miles. Bike share will make these trips fast, efficient, easy and affordable. Citi Bike will give New Yorkers access to a Citi Bike when they want one, without having to worry about storage or maintenance. It also leverages the city's great mass transit system – in comparable cities, up to 50% of bike share trips are made to get to or from a public transit station. This will extend the reach of transit into newly developing areas that don't have great subway coverage, like waterfronts.
What we have learned from other cities – including sponsorship potential and the efficiency of a wireless station network – has allowed us to create this new travel option at no cost to the City or to taxpayers.
Top of page
Who can use bike share?
Citi Bike will be available to everyone 16 years and older and memberships are purchased with a credit or debit card. And it's not just for tourists – as we've seen in cities all over the world, bike share programs are used by a wide range of people for an almost infinite variety of trips. In New York, we expect bike share to be used by commuters and tourists alike, whether they are trying to get across town at rush hour, traveling to places where subway stations are infrequent, connecting to the ferry services or waterfronts, or moving among the City's vast array of attractions.
NYC Bike Share and NYC DOT are also working on a program that will allow residents to join the bike share system at a discount through NYCHA and credit unions to help the unbanked join.
Top of page
How did you decide on the locations?
For the last eight months, NYC DOT has conducted a very intensive and participatory consultation process, meeting multiple times with 14 Community Boards, conducting over 200 meetings with business improvement districts, property owners, civic associations, institutions and elected officials and holding over 30 events to demonstrate the bike share equipment. The City has held well-attended community planning workshops in every part of the bike share area, and received over 10,000 suggestions for station sites on the NYC Bike Share internet portal.
The input gathered through this process has largely created the site plan for the bike share, so this really is the public's plan and the public's preference for how this system should work in different parts of the city.
Top of page
Is it just Manhattan/why this area and not others?
We know from studying bike share systems globally that a successful system must launch in the area of highest use, the stations must be densely populated, and because this system must be financially self-supporting, the operating area must include the central business districts. The Manhattan Central Business District sees the most intensive travel demand in the city, so it is just good business sense to center operations there. The system will also be located in surrounding residential areas. NYC DOT will be making the plans available on the nyc.gov/bikeshare soon.
Top of page
When and where will you release the map of the station sites?
DOT will post detailed maps of the station sites at nyc.gov/bikeshare.
Top of page
What if someone gets to a full station and can't park their bike or a station has no bikes?
There are a few solutions to this issue. First, customers can check real-time bike and dock availability online or on their smartphones at any time. Second, if a customer were to arrive at a full station, the kiosk will direct him or her to a nearby station with available docks. NYC Bike Share has spaced the stations so the distance isn't great and we will also be running a 24-7 customer call center to address any concerns.
Some of Citi Bike's approximately 200 employees will be regularly circulating throughout the system to redistribute bikes and make sure they don't all pile up in one place. In addition, as Citi Bike learns the patterns of how New Yorkers use bike share, they'll be able to fine-tune station sizes and their redistribution schedules.
Top of page
What is the smart-phone app for that?
Citi Bike will be the official system app. There are also many apps that have been developed from the publicly available data, including Spotcycle, Biximo and All Bikes Now. In addition, the data on bike availability and station location will be open, so we expect our developer community will add new applications as well.
Top of page
Are there jobs? How do people find out?
One of the great benefits of this program is that it will create about 200 new jobs in New York City. The jobs that are already advertised can be found at www.citibikenyc.com and there will be many more to come. During this summer's large scale roll out, they will initially be concentrated in the Brooklyn Navy Yard, and then located permanently in Sunset Park, Brooklyn.
Top of page
Is bike share safe?
NYC Bike Share's Citi Bikes are extremely stable, and not capable of high speeds. They are routinely maintained by professional mechanics to check safety features such as always-on lights, bells, and GPS devices.
Today, cycling has never been safer in New York City. Since 2007, NYC DOT bike counts on key routes have more than doubled, while cycling injuries and fatalities have fallen or remained flat. Overall, the risk of injury to cyclists in New York City has decreased by 75% since 2000. The City has added over 270 miles of bike lanes in the city since 2006, which has made streets much safer for cyclists. There are now more than 700 miles of bike lanes city-wide, including parks and greenways.
The City will use Citi Bike to increase the outreach it is already doing around bicycle safety. The program's visibility and its correspondence with subscribers and other interested people will create a great platform to further educate New Yorkers on how to safely share the streets.
Top of page
What if a Citi Bike gets stolen?
A customer is responsible for his or her bike while it is rented. If, for example, a customer leaves a bike undocked while running errands and the bike is stolen, the customer is responsible for it and will be required to pay for its replacement. Part of the importance of the station density is to ensure that wherever you go, you'll always find a station within a few blocks of your destination to dock the bike. As long as the Citi Bike is docked, it is not the customer's responsibility.
If a Citi Bike is taken from him or her, the customer would need to file a police report and call the NYC Bike Share customer service center and they will work with you to resolve the situation. The NYC Bike Share customer service center will begin operating in June when membership becomes available for the first time.
Top of page
What's the replacement cost of a bike?
The cost to replace a Citi Bike is about $1,000.
Top of page
What happens if someone crashes and is injured?
NYC Bike Share and the Police Department have contact protocol so that NYC Bike Share operations will be notified and will pick up a Citi Bike at an accident site if the rider is unable to keep charge of it.
Top of page
Who is liable if there is a crash or other problem?
If there is a legitimate equipment problem that causes a crash, NYC Bike Share will be liable. If a rider is disobeying traffic laws or is reckless, then that person will be liable. NYC's Law Department has determined that bike share does not increase the City's general exposure.
Top of page
What is the price?
| Prices | |
|---|---|
| Annual Membership: | $95 |
| 7-Day Membership | $25 |
| 24-Hour Membership | $9.95 |
Pricing of the system is designed to keep bike share trips short, from point to point. When you have a membership, whether for 24 hours or 365 days, you can make as many trips as you want. But if you exceed a time limit – 45 minutes for annual members and 30 minutes for others – you pay additional fees based on how long you keep the bike. They are small in the first additional half hour but escalate after that, so it's in your interest to get where you're going and re-dock the bike so someone else can use it.
| Time-based fees For Annual members | |
|---|---|
| First 45:00 minutes: | Free with annual membership |
| 45:01 - 75:00 minutes: | $2.50 |
| 75:01 - 105:00 minutes: | Additional $6.50 Total $9.00 |
| 105:01 - 135:00 minutes: | Additional $9.00 Total $18.00 |
| Additional 30 minute increments: | $9.00 |
| For short-term subscriptions (7-Day and 24 hours) | |
|---|---|
| First 30:00 minutes: | Free with shorter-term memberships |
| 30:01 - 60:00 minutes: | $4.00 |
| 60:01 - 90:00 minutes: | Additional $9.00 (Total $13.00) |
| 90:01 - 120:00 minutes: | Additional $12.00 (Total $25.00) |
| Additional 30 minute increments: | additional $12.00 |
What about low income New Yorkers?
NYC Bike Share and NYC DOT are committed to making sure the Citi Bikes are accessible to New Yorkers of all income levels. A program is being developed where qualifying New Yorkers will be able to purchase a reduced annual membership for $60, payable in quarterly installments.
There is also an affordability program that will be available to all NYCHA residents, as well as members of Community Development Credit Unions (CDCUs) who primarily serve low-income clients and have signed on to be bike share partners. Low-income New Yorkers who are currently unbanked would be able to sign up for a low-or no-cost bank account with a participating CDCU in order to obtain a reduced-fee bike share membership.
Top of page
How will people get helmets?
The City strongly encourages the use of helmets. Though helmet-sharing is not practical, the City and NYC Bike Share are working with the bicycle industry to provide discounted helmets to bike share members. In addition, NYC DOT will continue to distribute free helmets – over 50,000 have been given away to New Yorkers since 2007. High quality maps provided on each bike share station will provide details of locations where bike helmets can be obtained. New York State law requires helmets for bicyclists age 13 and under.
Top of page
Is City government running bike share?
The system will be run and operated by the New York City-based company, NYC Bike Share, a fully-owned subsidiary of Alta Bicycle Share. The City issued a request for proposals that asked companies to come to New York and run bike share as a business. Alta Bicycle Share was selected as the operator, which then created a New York-baed subsidiary called NYC Bike Share. Alta operates these systems in Boston and Washington, and the bike and station hardware they use is also in use in London, Montreal, Minneapolis and a few other cities.
Top of page
Who is paying for it?
Sponsorship agreements with Citibank and revenues from users, will cover the entire equipment and operations cost of the system. NYC Bike Share is not receiving any taxpayer or federal-aid dollars to establish and run the bike share system. In fact, we expect the system to make money, and the City will split the profit with NYC Bike Share. The sponsorship agreement and NYC Bike Share's contract with the NYC both run for five years.
MasterCard will also be the sponsor of the payment systems, and will outfit the stations with advanced PayPass payment points.
Top of page
What other cities have bike share – how do they compare?
People are using bike share systems in over 200 cities, including Boston, Washington, Denver, Minneapolis, London, Paris, and Barcelona. More city programs are launching each year. In London, the 6,000-bike Barclays Cycle Hire program has recorded 4.5 million trips in its first year of operation (and expanded to 8,000 bikes this spring). Washington DC's 1,100-bike program was so successful that it has already expanded to keep up with demand.
Top of page