Citi Bike Has Gotten More New Butts on Saddles Than Any Other Bike
Shawneladee Cole can’t remember the last time she rode her own bike. It’s a great bike, but it’s been in the closet of her Brooklyn apartment for a decade. The idea of carrying it up and down her building’s narrow stairs just isn’t appealing.
Cole clearly remembers the first time she rode a Citi Bike, though. It was 2013. New York City had just launched its bike share program, and the branded blue bikes had popped up across Manhattan and Brooklyn, including Cole’s block in Clinton Hill. She took one for a spin and thought, “Oh my god, I can’t believe I’m doing this in traffic,” Cole says. She’d only ridden her bike within the confines of Prospect Park. But when a new bike lane also appeared, that designated space helped her feel comfortable riding on the road.
Citi Bike has changed Cole’s life. Working as a psychotherapist in Brooklyn and an adjunct professor at Hunter College in Manhattan, Cole shuttles between boroughs often. She used to rely entirely on trains and buses for those trips, but during the past six years, Cole has become one of Citi Bike’s most frequent users. She rides their bikes five to seven days a week, taking four or five trips a day. By 2018, she’d logged close to 8,000 miles-more than any other woman in Brooklyn.
How to Ride Like a New Yorker
Born-and-raised New Yorker Shardy Nieves has spent the past eight years as a bike messenger in Manhattan. He organizes urban cycling events in New York, including alley cat races, with Track or Die NYC. He gave us the scoop riding city streets like a pro.
Absolutely no brake checking • Always know who or what’s behind you before braking suddenly. “I watched someone on a Citi Bike hit their brakes to take a picture of the Empire State Building, and the messenger behind rode right into him,” says Nieves. Be aware of who is around you on all sides.
Crossing moving traffic? Shoot for a rear bumper • If you come to a red light with cars crossing the intersection, a lot of riders won’t wait for the signal to change. “I slow down a little, and then continue through the intersection around the rear bumper so I can squeeze between the back of that car and the front of the car behind it.”
Trust the bike lanes • “If you’re just going to cruise around, stick to the bike lanes,” suggests Nieves. Protected bike lanes reduce your risk of injury by up to 90 percent, according to study by researchers at the University of British Columbia. When possible, plan your route around those.
No bike lane? Make a buffer? • Ride with at least a one-lane buffer between yourself and the curb. “That’s where you’ll avoid getting doored. You still have to watch out for brake lights and turn signals, but for the most part you’re moving with the flow of traffic,” which is usually moving at 25 mph. “If you’re on the side of the street, cabs usually stop, doors fly open, and that’s how you get hurt.”
Know your danger zones • Every city has particularly bad streets for cyclists should avoid. “I haven’t had many accidents, but the few that I’ve had have all happened on 6th Avenue. And I’ve never been hit by a car, but I’ve had collisions with pedestrians and cabs stopping.”
Use scare tactics • “I sometimes scream ‘Hot coffee!’ when I’m going through crosswalks,” says Nieves. “No one wants to get coffee all over them, so they usually give me a lane to keep moving. It’s not really the best solution, but...” Gotta do what you gotta do.
Since the 2013 launch, Citi Bike has caught fire in New York City. The service now has about 150,000 annual members (a number that doesn’t include all the people using Citi Bike with a single-ride or day pass) and 12,000 bikes across Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Queens.
People who never even considered bike commuting are attracted to Citi Bike because the service breaks down almost all the barriers to riding: There’s no need to buy a bike, for starters, or lights, a lock, or special clothes. Not having to a store a bike in a tiny apartment is a huge perk, and in New York, where thieves descend on unwatched bikes like vultures, the docking system eliminates bike-theft worries. Citi Bike’s employees handle maintenance, so riders don’t need to think about upkeep or service fees, either.
Citi Bike’s greatest victory, however, may be how it’s changed the Big Apple’s perceptions of bike commuting. Seeing blue-framed bikes on streets city-wide makes two-wheeled transportation feel accepted and convenient. The ubiquitous bikes are both tacit endorsement and approval, rubber-stamped by the city itself: “Here’s a bike, go ride it. You have every right to pedal these streets.” For urbanites, this helps make bikes an integral part of daily life. For New York City, it creates a transit solution that sets a precedent for the country: Bike shares work.
That isn’t to say it all came easy. In the largest city in the U.S., with nearly 9 million people in a 300-square-mile footprint, Citi Bike had to prove it could deliver New Yorkers a practical product, and scale it for the masses. Stations were most often located in affluent neighborhoods, making travel to other areas of the city less convenient. And, most users bought the $95 yearly pass (now $169), rather than the higher-profit $25 weekly passes aimed at tourists.
Commuter Clothes You Can Wear in the Office
1 / Goodr The OG / Sunglasses/ $25
Our friends at Runner’s World swear by Goodr sunglasses, which have scratch-resistant, polarized lenses, a bounce-free grip-coated lightweight frame, and retro-cool styling.
2 / Athleta Cosmic Blazer / $198
This chic blazer made of Italian fabric is structured and smooth while still managing to be stretchy and breathable. It’s also wrinkle-resistant, so you can shove it in your bag and pull it out looking crisp and smooth. And it has a hidden zipper pocket to stash keys or a phone.
3 / Lolë Wooly Lily Bag / $160
Everything you’ve ever wanted in a commuter bag: big and roomy, with a laptop pocket, a zip-up yoga mat sleeve, a removable cosmetics bag, a keychain, a phone pouch, and a shoe bag. And it converts easily from shoulder bag to backpack with concealable straps.
4 / Lululemon Down to the Wire Slim Fit Long Sleeve / $108
This sharp-looking men’s button-up is made with sweat-wicking, stink-proof cotton and has
gusseted armpits for better on-the-bike fit.
5 / Outlier Slim Dungarees / $198
Casual and comfortable pants that are literally unstainable. They look and smell good even if you rarely wash them and dry quickly when you do. Breathable enough for the summer, hearty enough for year-round use.
But, the program persisted, by putting up more stations and creating valet services for the high-traffic areas. Today, Citi Bike has over 750 stations throughout Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Queens, and often in neighborhoods underserved by trains and buses. Well-placed stations mean the service often offers the easiest and fastest commuting option (and safest: Citi Bike has only seen one traffic-related fatality). The company has also proved it could respond to the changing needs of commuters: Earlier this year, the service added 1,000 more bikes to docks in Manhattan and North Brooklyn to help alleviate effects of the then-impending L-train shutdown.
That type of problem isn’t likely to go away anytime soon. New York’s aging subway tunnels increasingly require renovation, meaning that delays, closures, and a maze of transfers have become the headache-inducing norm for its commuters. And more people on bikes means better bike infrastructure for the whole city. Between 2013 and 2018, New York added almost 330 miles of bike lanes.
Perhaps most important, for New Yorkers like Cole, Citi Bike’s system fulfills a need that only a bicycle can: an affordable, flexible, dare we say fun commute that gives its rider ownership of her space on the streets.
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