The New York City Department of Transportation and Lyft today joined City Council Transportation Chair Ydanis Rodriguez and Upper Manhattan community organizations.
The event celebrates the launch of a Citi Bike expansion in Inwood and Washington Heights that will extend the bike share service area from the Battery to 220th Street, covering the entire island of Manhattan.
With the 36-station expansion and the addition of Citi Bike’s 20,000th bicycle, Citi Bike will surpass Paris’ Velib as the largest bike share system in the world outside of China, based on the number of bike docks with more than 42,000 overall.
“We’re thrilled to celebrate another major milestone in the growth of Citi Bike, an essential part of New York City’s transportation system that has played an important role in keeping our essential workers moving during the COVID crisis, with the Critical Workforce Membership Program and new stations at medical facilities like Lincoln and Harlem Hospitals,” said NYC DOT Manhattan Borough Commissioner Ed Pincar. “DOT’s completion of a record number of protected bike lanes in 2020 has paved the way for greater bike share growth, and we want to thank our partners at Lyft, along with Council Member Rodriguez and all the local community groups who have supported this expansion and helped us select station locations.”
“With the completion of our Manhattan expansion, riders can now pick up a bike to get to work, run errands, visit friends, connect to transit, get some exercise, and experience the city from every corner of the borough,” said Laura Fox, General Manager for Citi Bike at Lyft. “Getting to 20,000 bikes — more than three times what we launched with in 2013 — and surpassing Velib is a testament to our hundreds of thousands of dedicated riders for making Citi Bike one of the most successful and beloved systems in the world. We’re proud to provide a sustainable, affordable, and dependable mode of transportation to New Yorkers, and look forward to our continued partnership with NYCDOT and Mayor De Blasio as we grow this great system.”
“This amazing milestone far surpasses the success we could ever have imagined when, nearly eight years ago, we invested in the belief that New Yorkers would be willing to try bike share as a transportation alternative,” said Citi Head of Public Affairs Edward Skyler. “We’re very proud of this public-private partnership and we greatly appreciate all of the Citi Bike riders who have helped bring to life such a fun, sustainable and healthy way to get around the City.”
“I’m thrilled to see Citi Bike finally encompass all of Manhattan,” said Manhattan Borough President Gale A. Brewer. “The COVID pandemic has shown the need for alternative transportation solutions and I look forward to seeing Inwood and Washington Heights residents making good use of our city’s phenomenal bike share system.”
“I commend the New York City Department of Transportation, City Council, Lyft and community organizations who worked to achieve this effort to expand Citi Bike services to Washington Heights,” said Congressman Adriano Espaillat. “Alternative forms of transportation have played an immense and vital role to residents during the ongoing COVID-19 recovery, and the expansion of the nation’s largest bike share system to our district will have a tremendous impact on residents and families. I look forward to Citibike’s continued growth throughout our city to provide low-cost, sustainable forms of transportation throughout our communities.”
“The arrival of Citi Bike to Inwood is truly exciting news to hear. As Chairman of the Transportation Committee, I have continued to advocate for the expansion of Citi Bike into all underserved and transit desert communities. Our next goal should be to ensure that we’re making these bikes affordable to the local communities,” said Council Member Ydanis Rodriguez, Chairman of the Transportation Committee. “As the weather gets warmer I suspect we will see an influx in bike ridership across the City. This ridership increase must also be met with additional bike lanes, bus lanes, Open Streets, and pedestrian plazas to ensure pedestrians and cyclists remain safe. I look forward to continuing to work alongside the DOT, Citi Bike, Transportation Alternatives, and advocates to ensure we’re keeping all New Yorkers safe.”
Citi Bike is the most widely used bike-share system in the nation and hit the milestone of 100 million all-time rides last year as well as a record-breaking 103,139 rides on September 12th, 2019.
Last year alone, nearly 900,000 Citi Bike riders pedaled over 42.1 million miles. In 2020, Citi Bike celebrated its 100 millionth ride in New York City.
Citi Bike launched ebikes in 2020 and has grown the fleet to thousands of ebikes, with thousands more to be added next month; ebikes now account for more than 40% of Citi Bike ridership. Through Lyft’s Critical Workforce Membership Program, Citi Bike and MasterCard generously helped support nearly 30,000 free memberships, resulting in more than 1.1 million rides taken by this group since last April.
Citi Bike’s Phase 3 expansion is already in progress and will be completed by the end of 2024, more than doubling the footprint of the network.
This expansion added 18 neighborhoods to the system, and new stations will also be added in the Bronx, following expansions in Astoria and South Brooklyn earlier this year.
Citi Bike has more than 20,000 bikes at more than 1,300 stations and works with more than 60 community partners across New York City.
The system also includes over 4,500 ebikes. Late last year, Lyft also launched the first Equity Advisory Council for bike share, gathering together 20 organizations to provide an equity lens and guidance for Citi Bike’s expansion.
“We are always excited to hear about the continued expansion of Citi Bike to neighborhoods like Inwood and Washington Heights that can benefit from having this transportation option available,” said Miguel Centeno, VP, Community Engagement, Healthfirst. “As the coverage area expands, we have seen that people are taking advantage of it. In fact, last year nearly 30% of Reduced Fare Bike Share rides began and ended at expansion stations. New Yorkers relied on Citi Bike to get up and get out safely during the pandemic and Healthfirst is happy to continue to play a role in making bike share accessible to more people. We would also like to congratulate Citi Bike on adding its 20,000 bike, making it one of the largest bike share programs in the world.”
“We are so excited for the expansion of Citi Bike into the Washington Heights and Inwood community because it gives people options,” said Ana Reyes, Founder & Executive Director of I Challenge Myself. “We’ve utilized Citi Bikes in our family learn-to-ride program, and it’s great to see high schoolers and their families more active and comfortable on bikes. The dock stations are a resource that provide mobility, transportation, and an alternative to jumping on the subway or the bus. In particular, the Reduced Fare Bike Share program gives people an affordable way to hop on a bike and run errands and get around. It’s going to be a game-changer for our community.”
Founder of The Body PRJCT, 8 x marathon runner, and fitness community leader, Adam Joseph Francique said, “Having lived in and serviced the Uptown area of Manhattan for most of my adult life, I am extremely proud to witness more and more fitness entering the neighborhood. Citi Bike’s expansion into the Inwood area is just one part of the seed that has grown from last year’s expansion in Washington Heights. I support Citi Bike with continuing the mission to provide access to equitable and affordable transportation in all areas that need it, especially Uptown Manhattan.”
“We are very thrilled for the expansion of Citi Bikes in Inwood and Washington Heights as it will bring much-needed access to alternative transportation in Northern Manhattan,” said Lizzette Perez, Co-Founder, The Heights Urban Empowerment. “It demonstrates Citi Bikes’ investment in our community and it aligns with our organization’s mission of making recreational activities accessible.”
“I think the Citi Bike program is a great benefit to our community. Not only does it provide a healthy option to move around the city -whether commuting to or from work, running errands, or just taking a recreational ride – it makes the city more accessible and opens up opportunities to see the city from a new perspective,” said Yvonne Stennett, Executive Director of the Community League of the Heights. “Biking is a big part of my life. I am excited to see more members of our community make it part of theirs
“As New York City faces an unprecedented bike boom, we are excited that Citi Bike is expanding to more neighborhoods and helping more New Yorkers get around by bicycle,” said Danny Harris, Executive Director of Transportation Alternatives. “As advocates for the introduction of Citi Bike to New York, we are thrilled to see the program grow to the second largest in the world and we will continue to push for its expansion and the protected and connected bike infrastructure to ensure every cyclist is safe.”
“Citi Bike has quietly become the biggest bike share system in the world outside of China, and is poised to become far bigger still,” said Jon Orcutt, advocacy director at Bike New York. “Citi Bike’s massive ridership and the constant demand for Citi Bike coverage in even more neighborhoods are marks of New York’s potential to become a bike-friendly city.”
Find more information regarding Uptown’s Ydanis Rodriguez here.
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