Blumie

The purpose of this thread is to have a discussion of our CitiBike usage, including advice, tips and suggestions. This is not a thread to debate the merits of the CitiBike or other bike sharing program in general or of promoting biking in NYC, either recreationally or as an alternative form of transportation; we tried to have that discussion in this thread but proved ourselves to be incapable of doing so in a fashion that is acceptable under FlyerTalk rules. But if we accept the CitiBike program as a given, let's see if we can have a discussion in an effort to improve users' experience with the program. So please share your usage patterns, your frustrations, your suggestions, etc.

I'll start with a report of my experience. I have been a very heavy CitiBike user since the program began, will sometimes use it six or more times a day (to work in the morning, to lunch, back to the office from lunch, home after work, out to dinner, back home after dinner), and have reduced my subway use by over 90% (I've never been a big taxi user). I find I can get virtually anywhere below 59th Street (where the program currently ends; I understand that it is to be expanded uptown next year) faster by bike than I could by subway, can get to some parts of the city far easier than I could be subway (the East Village and LES, for example) and find it far more exhilarating. The program has very much been a life changer for me.

Some common questions:

Do I wear a helmet? I do not. Clearly it would be a good idea to do so. That said, these bikes are big, heavy, sturdy and not built for speed. I do not feel particularly vulnerable on them. I may feel differently the first time my skull meets the pavement, but so far so good!

Do I obey the traffic rules?I do and I don't. I generally do not go the wrong way on one-way streets. An example of an exception is when returning a bike to the rack on W. 25th St. which is a quarter-block east of 6th Avenue, I'll sometimes go the wrong way for that quarter-block. I generally do not obey red lights, but definitely view a red light as requiring me to yield the right of way to pedestrians and other traffic. But if no cars and no pedestrians are coming, I will proceed.

What has my experience been finding bikes and available racks?Finding available bikes has been the most frustrating part of the program so far, which I attribute to the programs popularity. That said, CitiBike has been learning usage patterns and has an aggressive program of rebalancing the racks to the extent they're able. It doesn't solve the problem, but it makes it better. All in, it's been rare when I haven't been able to get a bike, but it sometimes has required more searching than I'd like. Finding an available rack to dock a bike has been much less of a problem. There have been some times where it's taken some searching (in the West Village in the evening, for example), but it's been manageable. The iphone app and online maps have not always reliably reported where bikes and racks are available, but that seems to be improving, too.

What am I going to do in the winter?I don't know yet. I think I'll continue to be a heavy user, but that of course will be weather dependent.

Do I recommend CitiBike to tourists?Absolutely! It's a great and economical way to get around and see the city. I could not recommend it more. But keep in mind that biking in NYC is not the same as biking in the leafy 'burb from which you came. Use extreme caution, but don't let the big city scare you away from using it altogether!

What are my suggestions to improve the program?Expanded reach to other parts of the city. More bikes. More reliable on-line and iphone app data about bike availability. Fewer out-of-service bikes (it is unclear to me whether all of the bikes taken out of service have maintenance issues, but it is clear to me that it's too easy for someone to just push that little button and thereby remove a bike from service).

Nugget_Oz

I have also used the program probably 20-30 times a week. Generally to and from work and then running errands on the weekend.

About 99% of the time. Means I carry a helmet everywhere. If I do not it is usually only where there are protected bike lanes.

I will usually obey the lights but lane split which is technically illegal in NYC. I only Salmon a quarter of a block to a rack but otherwise not. Although I see plenty of riders salmon numerous blocks, their excuse is that they are in a bike lane (stupid!).

Actually finding bikes are nigh impossible at some times and places in the city. I work in upper midtown and by about 8/8.30 there are no bikes within a four block radius. It's mainly a function of rebalancing, (often they just move them from one full rack to one empty rack rather than spreading them around) and the fact that they rarely rebalance to midtown except for the morning peak.

Keep riding until they don't plow the road.

For the most part no. They should really go for the day rentals rather than Citi. It also helps with recirculation as most annual and weekly members are likely to return the bikes rather than redocking and taking it back out again.

Agree. I think the out of service is fine. They just need more mobile mechanics.

gfunkdave

I'd really like to try it out, but I'm just terrified of riding a bike in Manhattan. Plus, I live on 96th St, so there aren't any bikes near my house.

Blumie

Riding a bike in Manhattan does take some getting used to, but I have found that, in just the four months since the program has become operational, drivers, pedestrians and bikers all are getting used to the new reality of navigating the streets of NYC! And that adjustment certainly will continue.

themicah

I use it probably a 5 times a week on average, most frequently to ride from my home on the LES to my office in Midtown (as I did this morning). It takes me a little longer (maybe 5-10 minutes) to bike than it would to go by subway, but I like having some physical activity in my day and on a nice day the ride up the East River promenade is a real pleasure.

I ride home less often because I often work late and I'm often tired and the racks near my office tend to empty before I go home anyway.

Less frequent in my usage, but most useful is the quick Citibike errand. This weekend, for example, mrsmicah needed to make some copies and was able to hop on a bike to get to Kinko's, which would otherwise be a 10-15 minute walk each way.

I wear a helmet 90% of the time, although sometimes if I hop on an express train home, I'll grab a bike to get home quicker from the subway even if I don't have my helmet with me. I'm thinking about getting a better helmet for schlepping around as my current helmet is more of a basic recreational helmet with stick-on pads that I fear are going to fall out and a visor that is always coming detached. Any recommendations for something sturdy but lightweight and not too hot?

I almost always stop for red lights. A friend who has been biking to work in Midtown for years told me the other day that he got two tickets in the last few months for running lights. The first was $200 and the second was $400. Apparently the third would be $800. That's a pretty good motivation to stop for the 15 seconds it usually takes for the light to change. Although it also helps that 75% of my ride to work is along the East River where there are no traffic lights.

ijgordon

I use it maybe a couple of times per week. I live on 72nd Street, so it's obviously not convenient much of the time and hasn't decreased my subway usage much at all.

I like taking a bike out for a half hour near my gym (by work) and head up the East River/Hudson River paths, instead of pretending to be a hamster, when the weather is nice. Then I return the bike to the same location (where there's invariably a suit grateful that I'm dropping a bike off to a by-then-empty station) and head back to the gym to shower.

I also use it to go cross-town, even in conjunction with a subway ride touptown, instead of transferring to, say, the Never/Rarely or L train.

I don't wear a helmet, for reasons similar to Blumie.
I obey traffic laws to the same extent (or lack thereof) as Blumie.
I think the app needs to improve, in terms of (1) better real-time availability data, and (2) account access. Many times I don't get a green light when returning a bike (just a yellow one), and it would be nice to check online that the return went through. I know you can do this on the mobile website, but that's slower.

Analise

<redacted>

As for cycling responsibly, helmets protect the cyclist from serious head injuries in the unlikely event of an accident. To not wear them is akin to not wearing a seatbelt in a car.

I have found that most riding Citibikes do in fact obey traffic laws. Those on their own bikes could learn from their stellar example.

Recommending to tourists? No. They can only ride for 30 minutes or pay high fees for lateness. That's a joke.

Winter — I'm wondering if the bikes will be removed until the spring for safety reasons given how icy the roads can be. What if there is another hurricane. What will they do with all the bikes? Will they be removed in time?

Improve the program: Offer options for longer rides like 90 minutes, 3 hours, 12 hours etc. Have the cyclists agree that that they in no way will hold the City of New York responsible for any accident or mishap. That is the ultimate improvement.

dstan

I have reviewed this thread and summarily deleted posts containing meta discussion and personal exchanges. No further off-topic posts will be tolerated, as per the FlyerTalk Rules.

Although the previous thread on this topic was closed for similar reasons, there is clearly a desire among the members to discuss aspects of the program. Another member has also contacted me privately about starting an informational thread on the topic.

Accordingly, provided that this discussion focuses on practical issues and not the political merits of the program, and provided that members refrain from any further personal exchanges, I am inclined to allow the thread to continue.

Members not interested in having such discussions are strongly invited to move along to the next thread rather than put themselves at risk of disciplinary action.

Forewarned is forearmed.

/Moderator

nerd

I found their Customer Service pretty responsive. Had biked to Williamsburg from Manhattan, and arriving there, the rack I biked to was full, and the credit card slot had been tampered with. I couldn't request extra time and got charged.

I called them around 10pm on a weekend night, and someone answered who credited me on the spot. ^

Nugget_Oz

Their customer service is definitely responsive, both by phone or email. I got one of those overage charges for the dock not reading the returned bike properly and they basically said this looks like one of your normal trips and that we shouldn't have charged you and they refunded the charges.

Blumie

I think you're missing the point on the time limitation. Every similar bike sharing program has a similar time limitation because the bikes are meant for commuting, not for touring. When I recommended the bikes to tourists, I meant as an alternative to taxis and subways for getting around, not for leisurely rides through Central Park. (I highly recommend leisurely rides through Central Park, and there are plenty of bike rentals available for that purpose, just not citibike.)

The whole idea is to get a bike, ride to where you're going, and then return the bike for someone else to use.

(I was in Paris with my 14-year-old daughter last month, and we had a wonderful time getting around the city using their bike sharing program, notwithstanding the 30-minute time limitation.)

UKtravelbear

The citi bike price page specifically states

so it's not as though they are trying to trap anyone.

I overhead a conversation a couple of weeks ago from a couple of (American) tourists here in London bemoaning that they were charged for returning their bike 'late' turns out that they took bikes out and then stopped for a leisurely coffee, then rode to their destination. So of course the late fees started racking up. Ironically they were from NYC and were adamant that such fees would not happen on citi-bikes despite my informing them otherwise !

Analise

So much for being adamant. So much for Citibike appealing to tourists. They effectively told them to go away.

That right there ignores the obvious. Tourists aren't commuters; they are visitors who typically aren't on the clock as they are on vacation. Perhaps that's why Citibike doesn't want their business. I rented a city bike in Berlin last month and rode it for about 2 hours. It was €0.08 per minute capped at €15 for the day and run by Deutsche Bahn. Tourists can't cycle in New York so inexpensively on Citibike.

If tourists wanted to ride or "commute" (as you said above) to the Metropolitan Museum, to AMNH, the Central Park Zoo, the Apollo Theatre, or to the Guggenheim, where can they return the bikes so others can use them? Where is the nearest dock? Answer: Below Central Park.

Blumie

Shockingly, some tourists "commute" to tourist attractions below Central Park. And while Citibike chose not to flip a switch an instantaneously make bikes available on every corner of the earth, they will be coming in the foreseeable future to larger swaths of NYC, making them even more a great thing.

I guess I don't know what's so complicated, though. Citibike, like other bike sharing programs, are designed for a specific purpose, not for all purposes. There are plenty of options for those (tourists and locals) who want to rent a bike for an extended period of time. Why do you insist that Citibike be available for that purpose as well?

Analise

To make money off tourism which is an enormous industry they are discarding. How foolish to throw it away. Citibike doesn't have the money to place bikes north of 59th Street and in the other boroughs. That they would not take tap such a lucrative market shows blatant idiocy as the profits would give them the means to expand.