[EVG file photo]
From the Post today:
Citi Bike honchos need tens of millions of dollars to save the struggling bicycle-share program — but Mayor de Blasio said Friday that it won’t come from the wallets of New York City taxpayers.
DOT Commissioner Polly Trottenberg said that she’s confident Citi Bike would resolve its problems and even expand.
“We all know Citi Bike has been tremendously popular with New Yorkers,” she said. “But there have been significant financial and operational issues, including redistribution of bikes to where the riders are and technology issues.”
The Wall Street Journal has more on all this "tens of millions of dollars" business here.
In January, Bixi — the Montreal nonprofit company that developed the technology that powers the Citi Bike program — filed for bankruptcy protection.
Citi Bike launched here last May.
37 comments:
Golly what a surprise.
anon at 12:08 - that is typical for startup canadian companies - they do not have longevity. i suspect that they get a lot of breaks from the federal / provincial government and those run out, they close up shop.
I-)
So much for the Blue Demons being a viable mode of transportation! What happened to all of the CitiShills who said they were going to ride their bikes wind, sleet, hail or snow? Guess this winter you all took the train instead? Ha! And since you are all in the minority this program isn't profitable. Crash and BURN!
If they made it affordable and you didn't need a credit card (I don't see how, tho') then the city would be forgiven for subsidizing
It is successful here east vlg, les, and I've used it to save on metro card and cabs and know others who do too including in snow. Issue is other areas not as perfect for this - not flat, not as little traffic, etcetera.
It's even more of a suckass program now than I thought it was when it was funded. Get rid of it!
The future headline may read: Vanishing: CitiBike Program Goes Bust, Bankruptcy Forces Sale of Blue Bikes At Bargain Prices
That's what we will be reading about if they don't quickly fix the economics of a program that needs tens of millions of dollars to expand and sustain itself. Bloomberg, the same guy who just said he really doesn't think about New York much anymore, promised that the city would share in the profits. Now the program is looking for a public handout or a massive price increase, and even Bloomberg isn't offering to invest in this money loser.
With so many riders how are they losing so much money? Like charter schools hey don't even pay rent for all the city owned property they are using! Whose running this thing, Donald Trump?
Turns out the pricing model was upside down. The daily and weekly prices were too high, so they don't attract tourists and occasional riders, and the annual price is way too low, subsidizing rich hipsters with six figure incomes. Plus the rebalancing program costs a fortune in labor. And the kiosks don't recharge so they had to hire a guy full time whose only job is to sit at 50 stations overnight just to recharge the batteries. I bet nice they release the numbers repair costs are thought the roof since these streets can tear a bike apart pretty quickly.
Now there's not even money for the promised expansion uptown and in the boroughs. They can't find new any sponsors since the program is so strongly identified with Citibank's name and colors that no one wants to get buried under someone else's branding.
Sorry Citishills, but with all this bad news CitiBike officially moves onto the Deathwatch list. Unless they can find money soon and DeBlasio has said no to a city bailout, their days are numbered. Ominously they have already started laying off employees, meaning as soon as they miss their first payroll its over. The good news is that soon you might be able to buy a bright blue bike really cheap and ride it for free, like the rest of us.
I saw a bike the other day smeared with feces. I'd never ride on those bio hazards,
I am shocked—shocked, I say!
$hittyBike is a better option to owning your own bike—particularly in this neighborhood, where bike ownership is fleeting at best—but I'm still petrified to ride a bike in this city, so I think I'll walk.
...maybe they can charge for parking at the existing kiosks?
Why wasn't the city 't able to look at long-term cash flow models and see this coming down the proverbial pike!
IF they let me ride the blue monsters for more than 30-45 minute increments perhaps I'd consider it.
What about 1/2 or full day passes without having to exchange a new bike within the hour?
It just doesn't seem like fun to have to "Keep an Eye on the Clock".
Because there's nothing tourists love more than a rigid 45 minute timeframe. It's so conducive to fun, sightseeing, etc.
Are we going to take anything the post or WSJ say about citibike as gospel? Both those rags believe everyone should take their limo everywhere and hate anything to do with bikes.
I'll believe there's an issue when a real newspaper reports it.
More people ride these bikes, even in the winter, than use the East River ferry. And yet the city feels that it's OK to subsidize the ferry service, even though it doesn't serve anywhere near as many people. I'd rather my tax money go to expanding bike share to new neighborhoods than serve few people in Williamsburg who use the ferry. Nothing against ferries in principle, but people just do not use them, and yet our tax money subsidizes that.
It would be so much cheaper for everyone involved--and a boon for local bikes shops--if the city encouraged people to buy their own bikes and then set up secure racks for them to be attached to.
It was a great "IDEA" but if you get them OFF 11th St and First Ave it would be GREAT!! Not all ideas are worth the effort ;-) or the thought
The city should take over the program. In every other city in the U.S., the bike-share program is run by a department of a local government. For-profit enterprises don't work.
While Anonymous is waiting for a more reputable source like High Times or Hustler Magazine to confirm what we already know, which is that CitiBike is going broke, here are a few helpful ideas to raise money to save the program:
Launch a Kickstarter Campaign and beg for money. It worked for Empire Biscuit so it could work for them. On second thought...
Sell CitiBike timeshares to tourists from Ohio, guaranteed to raise money since they will buy almost anything.
Let NYU students earn class credits for every mile they ride. It can't be any harder than the classes they are already cutting, and its better exercise than smoking hookahs.
Shave A Hipster For Charity Day: Donors get to shave those ridiculously unruly and impossibly thick facial pubes off the face of a hipster, female hipsters included.
Ask Bloomberg to pay for it, and rename it Mike's Bikes. It's pocket change to him, and since it was his pet program in the first place he should have to walk the dog it has turned into.
Sorry haters, it's not going anywhere. It's a huge success, people who are not you love it, and it strengthens the city's mass transit program considerably. So we need to figure out how to fund it. Unless they can get Shittybank to cough up some more dough, it'll probably have to be funded by the city, like every other bike share program is. Maybe when the charter schools start paying rent for their public school digs we can use that to fund it.
Good riddance! Ugly ass bikes which are nothing more than an advertisement for Citi.
D
@11:39 One last gasp from a CitiShill! News flash! Your corporate mayor is gone as soon will be these lousy blue tanks. Stop trying to make New York something it isn't.
The article states that $hitibike makes $9.4million in annual subscriptions alone per year. Is this not even close to enough? I think the last line of the WSJ is right, "We need to open the books."
They said the problem was they weren't getting the amount of tourists and occasional riders they thought they would- I think that's because paying $10 for the day, but having to change bikes every half hour is prohibitive. Riders should have been given at least an hour before they have to switch bikes.
Despite wishful thinking, the bike share program isn't going away soon. Lots of money went into starting it up, and it's been a boon to CitiBank and to commuters. There appear to be a few issues that don't seem insurmountable. I hope they iron them out and are able to keep it going.
So much money wasted on a small minority of people who insist on forcing their bike agenda down our throats.
The subway is still the best way to get around the city. You can rally all of your shills to bomb this site with comments as you do EVERY OTHER SITE but the truth remains this program is a failure, the bikes are polarizing and they are the most un-New York thing you could do in the city short of standing in line for a Cronut in your Uggs and Ray Bans.
Love it. I feel so vindicated. Where all these self-righteous self-conscious status symbol/act of virtue morally superior Citi lemmings arguing things such as how this is an ALTERNATIVE mode of transportation for everyone and that this'd be great for NYCHA residents that they're even getting a discount. Where's uncle Pete? Brian Van? Ahoy Polloi? Ahoy there. And the rest of Anonymous Citi VP shillers that have gotten their bonuses after shoving this monstrosity down NYers throats. This was another Bloomberg's self-serving narcissistic agenda for the narcissists that's why he wanted this to be rolled out before his final term. And now, Bloomturd doesn't even know or care what's happening in NYC. Much like his kiddie constituents -- the trust fund hipsters, tourists, wall street bros, godsend billionaires -- that invade the EV/NYC, they just consume as much as they can, trash the place, and just leave. Most who were excited about this CitiShit being rolled out are back in their mommy's and daddy's McMansions in Suburbia, U.S.A. Next thing you know these Citi apologistas would blame that Citi losing money is the fault of cars and pedestrians. GTF outta here.
So much anger and resistance to positive change in the 'hood.
If you think Citibikes are so evil, god help you when faced with real problems
positive change for those who are tourists, rich and mostly white, much like the glass condo high rises and the trendeateries and the middle-and working class are being pushed out of NYC are a positive change. Yeah, we got real problems 'aight.
Apparently, god helps only the godsend billionaires.
If you think Citi Bikes are positive change in the 'hood, then you have a real problem and god help you.
@Anon 8:43 from yesterday - please stop volunteering my tax dollars fo the upkeep of a program I have never supported, will never agree with, and would love to see eradicated. It's bad enough I have to pay for bike lanes and pedestrian plazas.
Live on WNYC, an expert just said CitiBike is "Too big to fail" on the Brian Lehrer show. They are discussing the massive PR spin and coverup of now bankrupt Altas financial problems and the politics behind the program. Brian is doing an entire segment on the meltdown right now, listen online here: http://www.wnyc.org/story/the-brian-lehrer-show-2014-03-25/
WNYC luuuurrrves Citi Bikes. If you look at their coverage of this monstrosity, seems like they're shilling for this greenwashing machine.
e.g. headlines: Zero Deaths, 93,000+ Members.
And Brian Lehrer and Ms. Bernstein commenting: "It's not a tourist thing, it's a New York thing."
"It's a perfect bike ride when you can't get a cab."
"I'm a proud member and Bloomberg should not be blamed for this."
Citi Bikes, Trader Joe's, yoga, etc., WNYC is just another self-conscious, self-righteous, status symbol for the morally superiors.
To be fair, Brian Lehrer, who is an avid cyclist and commutes on his own bike daily, said today that he has tried renting a CitiBike half a dozen times. Every time has been a major hassle, mainly due to the 22 step process involved in buying the daily pass.
This might explain the extremely low numbers of tourists and casual riders buying the much more profitable daily or weekly passes, but it's also not much fun riding in cold weather.
Last month less than 2% of all the rides were on the daily pass. Everyone else already had the annual pass, which means CitiBike likely had negative cash flow during the cold winter months.
Its no surprise to anyone who bikes in the city that this is a very seasonal business. It was a big surprise to CitiBike, which expected much higher business year round. This is part of the reason why they now have a big financial problem since they obviously didn't plan on needing extra cash reserves on hand to get them through the winter.
Meanwhile their glitchy equipment and software Bixi filed for bankruptcy in January. Other than that the program is a huge success.
Since this is Bloomberg's pet project, he should bail this ShitiBikes out and rename Bloomberg's Ego. Since Citi Bikers are already riding their and his ego anyway.
Wow, who knew so many people would hate "bikes". The program has its issues, but serves an apparent need. Why do people want something that reduces traffic, crowding on public transportation and gets people some amount of exercise, to fail?
The CitiBike Deathwatch continues. According to today's NY Times, CitiBike needs to raise another $20 million in order to expand the program and stay afloat.
As predicted, the rates are probably going up. and they are discussing raising the annual pass by almost 50% to $140 (from $95) putting it further out of reach of many working class New Yorkers.
There is no way they will expand the program this summer, which really means this year, so uptown Manhattan and the boroughs are out of luck. No CitiBikes for you until at least next year, assuming they even survive.
Alta keeps spinning the PR machine, saying everything is fine and they are growing quickly.
The problem is the annual riders are not generating enough revenue (paying only 26 cents a day) and are tearing up the bikes faster than planned. Cheapskates. And tourists aren't renting enough bikes to make up the difference.
This money quote sums up the situation nicely"
"The Alta team, based in Portland, Ore., has at times been frustratingly disengaged, supporters of the program say. Paul Steely White, the executive director of Transportation Alternatives, a rider advocacy group that helped bring bike sharing to New York City, said the company appeared “content just to sort of let the New York system founder.”"
Worries Abound as Citi Bike Nears One-Year Mark
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