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July 24, 2014- Citi Bike will be getting the cash it needs soon. More importantly, the poorly managed company behind Citi Bike, Alta Bicycle, will be taken over by the cash givers.
The WSJ reports, “REQX Ventures, an affiliate of real-estate giant Related Cos., is close to hammering out an agreement that could enlarge the footprint of Citi Bike to upper Manhattan, into Queens and further into Brooklyn over the next few years, these people said. The number of bikes would nearly double, from 6,200 to about 12,000.
The pact would allow Citi Bike’s operator, Alta Bicycle Share Inc., more flexibility in raising the price of the $95 annual memberships, which could increase to $140 or more, these people said. More than 100,000 annual memberships have been sold.
As part of the tentative agreement, REQX Ventures would secure a controlling stake in Alta, these people said, thrusting the Related affiliate to the forefront of a budding industry spreading across the U.S. Alta, based in Portland, Ore., runs bike-share and rental systems in cities from Boston to San Francisco.”
I would encourage any new operators to focus on fixing the existing infrastructure of this horrendously managed operation before expanding into other areas. As an annual member I deal with Citibike on a daily basis, and can attest to the consistent lack of available and/or operational bikes in stations across the city. There are NEVER any bikes anywhere around the Port Authority Bus Terminal upon arrival in the morning. If there is a bike in the rack, it is nonoperational. As I make my way to work, I walk a path that will take me past other Citibike stations. Same story…..no bikes or no working bikes. I end up walking to work about 50% of the time, and I have the exact same experience on my return from work. If management surveyed riders, or even simply took a census of bike availability at their stations, they would see the obvious discrepancy between riders and correct distribution of resources. They either haven’t done this, or don’t care. I know I have contacted them many times with no response. There is NO customer service and no attempt to correct the severe failings of their product. I would be willing to pay a higher annual fee if I thought that I could actually get a bike where and when I need it, but so far, this has NOT been the case in any way, shape, or form. I can’t believe this thing is even still in business. Whoever is responsible for running this should be fired immediately, as would most people who ran an operation so poorly.