Bike share provides New Yorkers with a convenient, affordable, and sustainable option for getting around the City. The majority of all transportation trips made in the city are shorter than two miles, a good distance for cycling. Bike share gives New Yorkers a fun, easy, and efficient option for these trips by providing access to sturdy bikes without having to worry about storage or maintenance.
New York City’s current bike share system,"Citi Bike", is a public-private partnership between the City of New York, represented by NYC DOT, and Lyft Bikes, a private company that owns and operates bike share systems around the country. With over 86 million trips since launch, bike share has proven its popularity and as Mayor de Blasio said, “Citi Bike has become part of our public transportation system".
Phase 3 Expansion
Mayor de Blasio has recently announced an expansion to the Citi Bike service area. Lyft, the private operator of Citi Bike, will invest $100 million to improve and strengthen the system - which includes doubling the service area and tripling the amount of bikes over the next 5 years.
Citi Bike has begun the expansion with 25 new stations along the L-train corridor in East Williamsburg and Bushwick. In the months ahead, it will add more stations in these neighborhoods and within Ridgewood, Queens. Community outreach for Citi Bike expansion into Upper Manhattan and South Bronx will begin Fall 2019.
For more information, please refer to the Mayor's press release.
Dockless Bike Share Pilot
To help expand bike share in areas outside of the Citi Bike service area, DOT is launching a dokckess bike share pilot in select areas in the outer boroughs. Like Citi Bike, dockless bike share is an easy, affordable mode of transportation allowing users to make trips using sturdy, publicly available bikes. However, dockless bikes do not need stations to operate. Bikes are locked and unlocked using a smartphone app.
For information on the dockless pilots in the Rockways, Central Bronx, and the North Shore of Staten Island, visit the Dockless Bike Share pilot page.
NYC’s Better Bike Share Partnership
The Better Bike Share Partnership a collaboration between NYC DOT, Citi Bike NYC, NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, and led by community-based organization Bed-Stuy Restoration Corporation. the partnership highlights the importance of bike share to communities as a transit option, a tool for strengthening communities and for personal health benefits. Here’s a look:
Audio described video available: https://youtu.be/GAwzeDPDIeE