Those who take Citi Bike to get to work or use them to get around, get ready to pay more. The bike sharing program is raising its fees in New York City — and while it may only seem like pennies, it does add up. NBC New York’s Andrew Siff reports.
The second Citi Bike price hike in New York City this year kicks in Wednesday, an increase the company is blaming on "higher than anticipated battery swapping, insurance and vehicle expenses" when it comes to ebike customers, especially.
Ebike customers apparently make up most Citi Bike rides now, and the company says it is working to build out more charging stations to reduce the need for battery swapping.
Annual membership, monthly membership and day-pass prices stay the same.
The website lays out a summary of changes:
Member Pricing Changes
- No change in the Annual Membership price
- Ebike fees will increase to $0.24 per minute.
- Overage fees (classic and ebike) will increase to $0.24 per minute.
- The cap for ebike rides 45 minutes or less that enter or exit Manhattan will increase to $4.80 (all other ebike rides are $0.24 per minute and uncapped).
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Reduced Fare Bike Share Members
- No change in the monthly membership price
- Ebike fees will increase to $0.12 per minute.
- Overage fees (classic and ebike) will increase to $0.24 per minute.
- The cap for ebike rides 45 minutes or less that enter or exit Manhattan will increase to $4.80 (all other ebike rides are $0.12 per minute and uncapped).
Lyft Pink All Access
- Ebike fees will increase to $0.24 per minute.
- Overage fees (classic and ebike) will increase to $0.24 per minute.
- The cap for ebike rides 45 minutes or less that enter or exit Manhattan will increase to $4.80 (all other ebike rides are $0.24 per minute and uncapped).
Non-member Single Ride
- No change in the Single Ride Pass price.
- Ebike fees will increase to $0.36 per minute.
- Overage fees (classic and ebike) will increase to $0.36 per minute.
Non-member Day Pass
- No change in the Day Pass price.
- No change in extra time fees.
- Ebike fees will increase to $0.36 per minute.
The hike comes more than a decade after then-Mayor Michael Bloomberg OK’d Citi Bike as a transportation experiment, saying at a press conference at the time "I hope it works!" It started with 6,000 standard bicycles; Since then, the bike network has quadrupled.
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Citi Bike, which is owned by Lyft, declined to speak on-camera with NBC New York, but in a letter to cyclists wrote that the nation’s largest bike share network is tough to maintain. At docking stations across the city, with lots of bikes out of service, the company says they’re aware and is sending technicians to fix the problem soon.