NYC Bike-Share Takes Off!

All of a sudden, New York City is filled with royal blue bicycles as people rush to participate in the new bike-share program, the largest in the US.  

Since there are 6000 blue bicycles, you don’t have to go far to see one – 10,000 people have already signed up to use them and almost 15000 people have enrolled as members.

"It’s been over 75 years since our streets have seen a new public transit system, and people are enthusiastic," says Janette Sadik-Khan, Transportation Commissioner.

Bicycles can be picked up at 330 stations in Brooklyn and   Manhattan, which will soon expand to Queens and to 10,000 bikes at 600 stations. 

Members pay $95 a year and can then unlock a bike at any open station, ride it for 45-minutes and return it to any station. For $10, bikers can get a 1-day pass and a week-long pass is $25. An "app" lets them know where the stations are located and which ones have bikes available.

"We now have an entirely new transportation network without spending any taxpayer money," says Mayor Bloomberg. "Citi Bike"is emblazoned on very bicycle because Citigroup paid $41 million to sponsor the program. Alta Bicycle Share, Inc. is operating the program. 

Not everyone, however, is thrilled to see Citi’s name everywhere (can’t blame them). One of the largest bike stations is in a park in SoHo that’s reserved for public art exhibitions. "We want our art space, not advertising for Citibank." And a store owner in the West Village says, "They shouldn’t be on these little, quaint residential streets."

NYC’s bike-share program is one of 500 in 49 countries! That adds up to a world fleet of over 500,000 bicycles, the fastest growth of any mode of transportation in history.

Chicago’s program starts this month, and programs will soon launch in Los Angeles (4,000 cycles), Long Beach (2,500), and San Diego (1,800).  

Who could be against bike-sharing? Hard to believe, but the Wall Street Journal says the program is designed by "totalitarians"  and is "absolutely begriming" the city’s "best neighborhoods." 

Here’s NYC’s bike-share website: