via Citi Bike on Twitter
Nov. 29, 2018 By Nathaly Pesantez
Citi Bike is set to undergo a massive expansion, doubling its current service area and more than tripling the number of bikes in its fleet over the next five years, the city announced today.
Lyft, the parent company of Citi Bike, will invest $100 million toward the expansion as part of an agreement reached with the city over its acquisition of Motivate, Citi Bike’s former operator.
Details on where Citi Bike will expand to are unclear, but the announcement could mean that the bike share company will head to Queens neighborhoods east of Astoria and Long Island City, currently the only two neighborhoods in the borough with the service, into places like Sunnyside and Woodside.
“This expansion means tens of thousands more New Yorkers are going to have a fast and inexpensive way to get around their city,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio in a statement. “It also means much more reliable service for all the riders who already use Citi Bike.”
Citi Bike’s current service area (via Citi Bike)
The bike share company will expand by 35 square miles over five years, and will operate a fleet of nearly 40,000 bicycles by the end of the expansion.
Citi Bike’s new geographic boundaries, however, will be set in the coming months, the city said, noting that community and elected official outreach in the selected expansion areas will follow.
The expanded fleet will also include regular and pedal-assist bicycles, a relatively new type of bike with a built in motor that provides a boost to riders, making it easier to climb hills and travel long distances.
Lyft will also continue and expand discounted Citi Bike memberships for NYCHA residents and SNAP recipients.
Citi Bike currently has 12,000 bikes and more than 750 stations in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens since it kicked off operations in 2013.
The bike share company added more service in Long Island City and Astoria last year after first launching in the Queens neighborhoods in 2015.
The Citi Bike expansion announcement comes as the city has been testing out dockless bikes in areas without a bike share service, like the Rockaways and the south Bronx.
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11 Comments
Stick these stupid toys under a part of the 7 train that’s not being used for parking presently. Time to raise prices too. You want part of the road, you gotta start paying!
“Amazing. Every word of what you just said… was wrong.”
-Luke Skywalker
“You want part of the road, you gotta start paying!”
Good idea. Let’s apply this to automobiles as well.
Awesome news. There are tons of times I’ve wanted to only bike in one direction to/from the city, but didn’t feel like taking that additional 1 mile walk it requires. Especially in winter. And it’ll help more people take a chance and see how much better biking is.
More importantly, we need to make sure the expansion includes some of the poorer neighborhoods (one of the controversies regarding the current map), and especially those in the transit deserts to help them get to the subway lines faster.
Better biking in the city? You mean how close you guys come to death literally EVERY block you bike? Or how about those parents who ride just an inch or two away from moving vehicles with their toddler on board. You people are ridiculous, this city was and never will be FOR BIKES. you wanna bike go to a freakin park.
Oh please please please bring citibike to sunnyside.
I normally ride by own bike to midtown and back for work. But on days with a rainy morning or afternoon, citibike would allow me to take the train one direction and bike the other.
Why doesn’t Sunnyside have them yet?? It has the space, it has the bike lanes, and it has the people. Bring them here already!
Take as much parking as you need! 5 parking spaces can fit up to 50 bikes! Much better use of public space than a couple of out of state SUVs. Would open up Sunnyside as a destination for folks from Astoria and LIC who already have bike share. Win win win!!!
I guess now we know why they pushed bike lanes so much?
I really don’t mind access to citibike in sunnyside for people who can commute to and from work using citi bike (or their own bike), it’s a huge plus, but we still don’t have truly safe bike lanes, or proper bike rider education.
I doubt they had specific knowledge of this expansion (though it’s a pretty safe assumption CitiBike would do so eventually), but like all good infrastructure the lanes were definitely built for the future, not just current ridership.
Biking continues to grow in the city, and will continue to do so as it gets safer, more people discover it, and the subways keep getting more crowded. Citibike is only one part of that.
Lets goooooo
15-20 min to midtown