After record-high Citi Bike ridership numbers across New York City over the past few months, rideshare company Lyft, along with the Department of Transportation and Mayor Eric Adams, announced plans to significantly expand the service by the end of next year.
Over the next 12 months, Citi Bike will more than double the number of e-bikes available at its docking stations across the city, as well as pilot two new electrified charging and docking stations for the bikes. The company also plans to electrify 20% of its existing docking stations so they can charge e-bikes in the coming years.
Demand for e-bikes has substantially increased since the company launched 10 years ago. On Oct. 28, Citi Bike surpassed its single-day ridership record with 161,422 trips. The next day, the company also reached an annual record with 30.7 million trips taken and two months remaining in the year.
The city has also partnered with Lyft to increase the number of bike docking stations from 1,000 to 2,000 this year, making bike-sharing more accessible to even more New Yorkers. Starting next year, Citi Bike will introduce new price-capping measures to reduce per-minute pricing for members and non-members alike — along with lowering the price of annual CitiBike memberships.
“Biking in New York City wouldn’t be what it is today without Citi Bike, and we’re launching a new era of our city’s two-wheeled history by expanding and improving this system,” said Adams on Friday. “I’ve biked all across the city — from High Bridge to the Brooklyn Bridge — and this agreement with Lyft ensures that public bike share will be available for New Yorkers to do the same for the next decade. As we work every day to promote safe cycling on bikes and e-bikes, we will never stop making it greener, cleaner, and easier for all New Yorkers to travel across our great city.”
DOT Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez applauded the plan to increase Citi Bikes for New Yorkers, as well as the Adams’ administration’s efforts to make biking safer.
The city is working to develop and enforce regulations surrounding the lithium-ion batteries that power e-bikes. Dozens of dangerous fires sparked by overheating or damaged batteries have injured hundreds of New Yorkers, some fatally. Many of the fires have been caused by faulty or damaged batteries, and bikes stored indoors. According to Lyft, all CitiBikes are equipped with UL-tested and certified batteries.
The Administration has also completed significant expansions to bike infrastructure across all five boroughs with protected bike lanes, including extending the Harlem River Greenway all the way to the Bronx and completing the longest protected bike lane in East New York.
“We’ve seen bike share grow to become an essential part of New York City’s transportation landscape, with hundreds of thousands of Citi Bike trips taken every week,” said Rodriguez. “Biking is often the fastest way to get around the city—and these new initiatives will make Citi Bike an even more convenient option for commuters.”
