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Update March 30, 2015- The Post reports that the new operators of the Citi Bike Program has repaired the cracked seats and other problems with the 6,000 bikes in the field. they are also expanding new docking stations into Brooklyn.
The CEO emailed a letter explaining the details:
Dear Steven,
Since becoming CEO in late October, I have been working with our team to develop a plan to bring you a better Citi Bike. I’m proud to report that work is well underway and you’ll feel the full benefits by summer.
This weekend we replaced the software that powers Citi Bike. It is an important first step in a series of improvements designed to provide a better member experience, every step of your ride. Here’s what you can expect to see starting now and over the next few months:
1) Starting immediately you’ll have real-time, accurate information, on the Citi Bike app and our website
- And our team will have the information they need to keep the system running smoothly
The rest of our improvements will come online throughout the spring and be complete by summer:
2) Our stations will be more user friendly and reliable
- New technology means stations have greater uptime
- New kiosk screens will be more intuitive and ride codes will be more reliable for casual users
- Key dispensers allow you to sign up and ride on the same day
3) All 6000 bikes will be overhauled and we’ll keep them in good condition
4) It will be simple and stress-free to return a bike
- We’re adding more valets at busiest stations
- We’re changing the hardware at each of our 12,000 docking points to make them work better
We’ll send you an email to confirm your trip is closed
We aren’t stopping with these improvements. This is New York – just fixing the system so it works like it should isn’t enough. We are making Citi Bike bigger and even better.
System expansion is being readied as we speak and will begin later this year. We’ll start in Bed-Stuy, Williamsburg and Greenpoint and Long Island City will host the first bikes in Queens. We are already working with the community to plan expansion for the Upper East and Upper West Side. And by 2017 we will bring Citi Bike to neighborhoods including Harlem, Red Hook, Astoria and beyond.
I want to sincerely thank you for your membership.
Our entire team looks forward to many more happy miles with you.
Best wishes,
Jay Walder
President and CEO
Motivate
Operators of Citi Bike
______________________________________________
October 28, 2014- The NYT reports, “New York’s popular yet problematic bike share system is poised for a reboot. The de Blasio administration has reached a deal with a private company to take over Citi Bike, according to multiple sources. A formal announcement is expected on Tuesday afternoon.
The system will expand to 12,000 bikes, twice the number that are currently on the streets, and new stations will be added in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens. But this new system will come at a cost for bike share users, with the price of memberships also rising.
Jay Walder, a former chairman of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, reached by email on Tuesday, said that he had been hired to run Alta Bike Share as its new chief executive officer. REQX, based in Manhattan and made up of partners at Related Companies, the real estate developer, and the gym chain Equinox, is in the process of taking over Alta, which was Citi Bike’s original operator. Negotiations have been going on for months.
To cover the cost of an expanded system, prices will rise, with an annual membership going up almost 60 percent, to $149 from $95, according to two people briefed on the matter. There will also be more payment options, including monthly and seasonal passes. Currently, there are only annual, $25 weekly and $9.95 daily passes.”