The city has revealed the pricing structure for its bike sharing program, which is expected to be rolled out this summer. In the program, 10,000 bikes will be docked at 600 stations in Manhattan and Brooklyn, and you can “borrow” them with a credit card for a fee. The sponsor will be Citigroup, and as you can see you will basically be a rolling advertisement for the bank.
On the Upper West Side, we’ve heard the bikes will be available as far North as 79th Street, although the city hasn’t revealed where exactly the bike docks will be placed.
An annual pass costs $95, a week-long pass is $25, and 24-hour access costs $9.95. But there are also “usage” charges that could drive the price up. If you stay on the bike for more than 30 minutes (45 if you’re on an annual plan), those charges kick in — for instance, a two-hour ride costs an additional $25. Yikes!
Check out the details below, and more on the program website:
If you are using the bike to get from point A to point B – 30 minutes should be fine, I’d think, as long as there are enough bike-stations to serve the targeted areas.
It costs *you* A THOUSAND DOLLARS if one of our comrade citizens steals the bike from you. (Read the fine print above.) That’s a “penalty”, not replacement cost of the bike (which will probably be worth a lot less).
So unless you’re prepared to come equipped not just with your own helmet but also with your own Kryptonite or other REALLY GOOD bike lock — and who carries those around with him- or herself, especially when (by definition) you don’t have your own bicycle?? — plan NOT to get off the bike before you arrive at your planned destination.
Also don’t ride anywhere deserted (back reaches of Central Park, etc.) where the bike could get taken from you even with you still on it. Although anyone with his or her own bike already follows those cautions, the program is aimed, at least in part, at those who don’t have their own bikes and therefore might not be familiar with the protocols. The naive could end up being (a) mugged for the bike and (b) fined by the City A THOUSAND DOLLARS for having been mugged for the bike.
Why doesn’t the City build in insurance coverage for loss, or at least make coverage available for purchase, like anyone buying their own bike would likely have in place? While owner’s/renter’s insurance probably covers the loss of *your own* bike, it’s not clear to me that your insurance would cover the “Penalty” assessed on you for the loss of the City’s bicycle.
Great idea for a program, City, but you’re not done yet.
Cato- The intent of the program is not that you bring your own lock to secure the bike. It is meant as a station to station transit (part of the reason for the narrow time limits). As for theft, sure an unattended bike (with a private lock) is a target. I find it very hard to believe someone would get mugged for one.
I agree, there will be some kinks that need to be worked out, such as high traffic destinations, daily flow of bikes, and redistribution.
now sounds like first rollout will only go up to 59th. will expand up to 79th next year.
I bike daily and it rarely takes me more than 20min to get where I’m going.
these bikes are designed for getting one place to another, not for touring around central park…the bike rental folks will still serve a purpose.
It’s time for the Emergency Rooms to gear up! All these bikers – a fair proportion of them tourists…yeek…they’ll be going down like ten pins. I am not anti bike. I’ve owned 3 bikes over the years…and in the late 80’s, when I was working the graveyard shift on a major NY radio station, I biked to and from work. Riding home as dawn broke over the city was a wonderful experience. Today, I’m a professional driver and my biggest worry is hitting a bicyclist – especially when making a right turn. You can have your turn signal on – but suddenly they’re there…and not giving way (like what you saw on the Rag with a scooter on 88th and RSD). If this is going to work, cyclists, like motorists, really have to obey the traffic rules, which, as of this moment, most don’t. And when the amateurs get on the pedal…watch out below!