Friday, October 11, 2013

Noted



A bikenapped Citi Bike on East 12th Street between Avenue A and Avenue B? Photo by EVG reader Philipp.

24 comments:

Makeout said...

Nope. I put there on purpose heheh

Anonymous said...

Ooooh, those arrows are HOT!!!

Anonymous said...

I think people are just posing their bikes and taking photos at this point.

Gojira said...

Nice that they painted the cast iron the same shade of turquoise that's on the bike. Now that's street art.

Crazy Eddie said...

Not to be released unless Obamacare is repealed!

Vickram Pundit said...

Probably someone who purchased the yearly pass thinking that unlimited rides means he can take a bike for his/her sole use throughout the year. And this is how CitiCorp makes their money, from obtuse mindless lemmings.

Anonymous said...

Citibank =bad for humans/earth. Stealing from citibank=good for humans/.

Anonymous said...

It was too heavy to return to the docking station.

Mark Hand The Catchman said...

Vickram... I've seen this around as well and its most likely not yearly holders doing this, its people pulling a "free" bike from a dock and using it [and securing it] until its tracked down by one of the citibike trucks and returned to service.
I have also seen people securing a bike like this if they are making a short pitstop before returning it to a dock [within the 45mn limit] its done in nabes where there is a high demand and few bikes at docks, silly because if its stolen you'll be on the hook for 1000 bucks

Anonymous said...

I can't wait for winter when we no longer have to look at these fanny-packs as transportation.

Anonymous said...

Coming soon...my portrait collection of freaked out CitiBike riders realizing they will be late for work because the docking station they have arrived at is full.

Anonymous said...

Vickram: Citibank is a sponsor of NYC Bike Share, not a beneficiary. Revenue is split between NYCBS (operated by Alta) and the city.

Anonymous at 11:23: NYC isn't some wuss city like Boston. Our bike share operates year-round.

Anonymous said...

$9.00 for the first 1 3/4 hours, and then $18.00 bucks an hour after that.

Works out to $414.00 for a 24 hour rental..... sweeeeet.

Vickram Pundit said...

How is CitiBank not a beneficiary if it's sharing the revenue? They're still getting and receiving revenue, not to mention the kickback the City and Bloomberg gave them to be the sponsor of this greenwashing machine. Regardless, Citi is a toxic corporation, and having their name on the front of a premier alternative transit project is incredibly distasteful, to the point of being destructive.

And you may wanna sign your name as a Citi VP, Anon. 10/12 5:35 PM.

Anonymous said...

Right on, Vickram Pundit! You said it.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous 10/12 5:35pm,
You show intolerance, calling our faith into question.

Anonymous said...

Vickram, it's okay to be uninformed. Citibank and Mastercard sponsored the program that is owned and operated by NYC Bike Share, a division of Alta Bike Share. New York City and NYCBS are part of a rev share. Not Citibank. Not sure about which part of this you're unclear.

As for your second point, that's totally fare, But don't conflate it with a basic understanding of bike share and how this system was set up. How would you feel if city taxes were used to pay for the program? It would never have gotten off the ground. There are serious issues with the sponsorship model for bike share (specifically that it makes it difficult to grow outside of Phase 1), however helps establish the massive need for bike share in the city and can help provide a basis for arguing for city funding for expansion (as we've pols in Harlem and Astoria have been doing since pretty much Day 1).

Anonymous at 9:04: Your basic misunderstanding of how short-term, point-to-point bike share works is futile. Can you please name two destinations in the city that are a 24-hour bike ride from one another? At worst, Far Rockaway to Riverdale would come out to about a 4 hour ride...and not really sure who would ride that far for commuting or running errands.

THE NOTORIOUS L.I.B.E.R.A.T.I.O.N. said...

I don't care who pays for them, CitiBikes are so un-New York. It used to be tourists were contained to Times Square and the rest of the city was better off. Now every neighborhood has been theme-parked with predictable chain store experiences and fro-yo as far as the eye can see. CitiBike exists for no other reason than to transport people from the M&M Store to the South Street Seaport.

CitiBikes do not cut down traffic nor do they make the trains less crowded. They are a dangerous nuisance because of unseasoned riders charting unfamiliar territory, the equivilant of unleashing thousands of student drivers on a highway. The ill conceived bike lines put bikes and pedestrians in the same space and it's dangerous despite what the bullshit reports say. EVERY DAY I see people on these bikes riding on sidewalks, running red lights, cutting in between parked cars and navigating in ways a motor vehicle cannot, all while nearly silent until they're right up on you.

The sooner Winter is here, the better.

Done.

Anonymous said...

Yes! The "tourist" argument returns...nearly 90,000 annual members, likely none of whom are full-on "tourists." Not sure how the bike lanes put pedestrians and cyclists in the same space...unless people generally walk in the middle of the street.

I also sincerely doubt any tourist would ride from Times Square to SSS, especially with NYC's severe lack of downtown or crosstown lane options in Midtown. I'm sure this will change over the course of the next administration.

Also, I have passion for the "winter" argument as well. First, bike share isn't going anywhere anytime soon. Second, winter bike ridership in the city is on a steady increase, per 2012 DOT numbers (http://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/downloads/pdf/2013-nyc-cycling-in-the-city.pdf), and with bike share we should expect continued growth.

Nurse Ratched said...

90,000+ and counting blind submissive and mindless sheeple much like the one who who locked that bike. Compliance and passivity are what's expected of, to exercise the power and authority, in almighty Bloomberg's and Citibank's subjects. Medication time!

THE NOTORIOUS L.I.B.E.R.A.T.I.O.N. said...

I'd like to know, of those 90,000 annual members, how many have an affiliation with one of the companies involved in this program?

The bike lanes are NOT in the middle of the street. Where I live by Second Ave they are right against the curb. So if you step off the curb to hail a taxi, as we've done for decades, boom! You're on your ass. Oh but there would be a report. Doubt it. Last summer I had someone attempt to gain access to my apartment through the fire escape. The NYPD refused to take a report.

Winter ridership. Back to the spoon fed data you're so eager to consume without any type of audit. They say it so it must be true! As someone noted the other day, the slightest hint of rain and the streets are CitiBike free. Good! Maybe with a little snow we can return to less chaotic and safer streets.

Anonymous said...

Plaza Hotel Files Lawsuit To Remove Citi Bikes - HuffPo

Anonymous said...

Yeah six lanes of taxi free-for-all that you step right into- to hail a cab. ...and ....now bikes are making New Yorkers pee their pants?
I mean a tiger can live in a man's apartment here last I checked and nobody even notices. Yup.

Vickram Pundit said...

Who's the uninformed now, anon. at October 13, 2013 11:15 AM? Hope Citi gave you a humongous bonus.