Citibike: A First Person Account

By Modou Sène

All I Want for the Holidays is More Bike Greenways

By Abby Grosslein

I read an article recently about an intrepid Manhattan cyclist, Erik Trinidad, who did something different for his holiday cards in 2012.

    https://www.treehugger.com/bikes/biking-across-new-york-city-make-gps-holiday-card.html

He used the GPS on his iPhone and the Cyclemeter app and rode all over midtown Manhattan, turning the GPS on and off to spell out “Happy Holidays.” His video accompanying the TreeHugger article did not say how long this effort took him, or how much trial and error it took to achieve the geoglyph. However, he did post the original GPS readings.  

Mr. Trinidad told TreeHugger that he couldn’t always bike in a straight line, or get GPS reception amongst all the tall buildings. As a part-time biker in the city, I know a little about how hard it can be to maneuver a bike through all the traffic, vehicular and pedestrian. Bike lanes are sometimes closed for construction, or people stop their cars in them illegally; bikers must swerve around turning or idling cars. Biking in New York City is very unpredictable. I find it remarkable that Mr. Trinidad was able to get his geoglyph so perfect. To analyze his routes, I looked at the Manhattan Bike Map.

    http://www.nycbikemaps.com/maps/manhattan-bike-map/

The bottom of his “Holidays” is the 30^th Street bike lane. The top of “Happy” is the West 44^th Street bike lane. Parts of the “a” and “p” in “Happy” and “o,” “l,” and “i” in “Holidays” are within the Broadway, 8^th, and 9^th Avenue bike lane greenways. The “s” is part of the 1^st and 2^nd Avenue and FDR bike lane greenways. The streets around Bryant Park, interestingly, are bike lanes and what the NYC Bike Maps website calls “bike routes,” and yet are some of the squiggliest lines in the original geoglyph. It can be inferred that bike lane greenways provide cyclists with more direct, safer routes throughout the city. Without bike lanes, cyclists must change direction and swerve more often. Mr. Trinidad not only wished us all “Happy Holidays,” but he may have provided some evidence for the argument to dedicate more bike lanes in midtown. 

FiDi: So Many Obstacles, Yet so Many Bikers

By Evelyn Levine

A neighborhood with so many narrow roads, abruptly ending streets, and street parking galore, who would ride a bike? The downtown financial district of Manhattan it appears to be a cyclist’s nightmare with ubiquitous dangers, yet some New Yorkers appear to be fearless. The Citibike rental dock outside my window is constantly empty, and cycling infrastructure is quietly being implemented. Just last week there were bike lanes painted, and indoor private docking stations are appearing. 

The neighborhood, with all its dangers, is actually a biker’s haven. There is the underside of the East Side FDR, the West Side Highway path, and the two bridges that allow for easy access to Brooklyn. But who are these people biking? I have yet to see more than a handful of people using a helmet, and most people are biking in traffic and not using these aforementioned divided routes, but are weaving in-and-out of traffic. Are New Yorkers just a fearless breed? 

I don't know how to ride a bike but I am now learning. My children love riding their bikes but in our neighborhood the bike lanes are not continuous. The streets that we do find some bike lanes that are often blocked by cars. Where are the ticketing agents when you need one. 

Bike lane blocked by multiple vehicles

Biker ride on left to avoid cars on the bike lane.

Eventually the biker avoiding vehicles parked on the bike lane decide that he was safer riding on the sidewalk. 

Life is Full of Distractions

As a native Long Islanders who shies away from the hustle and bustle of New York City, I've yet to ever actually ride a bike in New York City. When I do find myself in the city for leisure purposes and stroll through Central Park, I often think to myself, "Everyone riding a bike today looks so happy!" Then I find myself strolling down 5th Avenue and I think to myself, "All the bicyclists look like they hate themselves."

Since I've been traveling into the city twice a week for the last 2 years, I've noticed all of the distractions occurring at a single intersection, or along a segment of roadway. You have drivers in their private vehicles attempting to navigate along the roadway, you have bus drivers in their buses that somehow never manage to stay in their lane, you have pedestrians totally following the rules of the road by jaywalking because they own the place, and then you have bicyclists that may or may not have a safe right-of-way to ride their bicycles in. After being told a story a few weeks ago by a classmate who witnessed a woman (on her phone, obviously) driving, avoid a bicyclist and hit a little boy, it's become more apparent that riding a bike in the city isn't the easiest thing to do. On my way home this evening, I noticed at least 10 cars double parked in the bike lane. How are bicyclists supposed to stay safe when half the time they can't even use their own designated right-of-way?

Not to mention all the other distractions bicyclists have to compete with such as drivers texting while cruising down the street in their multi-ton vehicle, pedestrians not paying attention when they decide it's their turn to cross the street, those who double park, and massive buses to name a few. So next time someone asks, "Hey Jen, you've lived in New York for HOW MANY YEARS and you've NEVER ridden a bike in New York City? Not even in Central Park?" I'll think to myself, well, I much rather be in control of my own destiny than some distracted driver.

Pedestrians Ignoring Bicyclists?

So I've never been an avid bicyclist. When I was a kid, I would bike alongside my mom while she would run her 5 miles every day. She liked me coming with her because I would keep her company and be another set of eyes on the road. She always stressed the importance of looking out for cars, especially because the majority of her 5-mile route was on the side of the road with very little separation between us and the traffic. And that was all I knew... until I began working in New York City.

New York City had all of these bike lanes and at first, I just saw it as extra space. I wasn't used to ever sharing the street with bicyclists and I didn't realize this was a reality. I'll be honest, for the first summer I worked in the city, I frequently walked in the bike lanes to be able to pass other slow-moving tourists/pedestrians in Midtown. I still do it when I'm absolutely desperate and need to walk fast, but I now realize how wrong and dangerous this is.

I work with a lot of people who ride their bikes to work every day - rain, snow, or shine. They often complain about pedestrians, not vehicles, and mostly they discuss the issue of pedestrians in the bike lanes. I rarely took part in these conversations because I was not a bicyclist and even worse, I've been one of those annoying pedestrians. But the longer that I've been at my job, working on designing bike lanes and ensuring bicycle safety, I have realized truly how important it is to be a safe/smart pedestrian.

As a pedestrian, I understand the common mentality that pedestrians typically feel, that they are able to walk anywhere and will be able to stop any traffic. Just look at how pedestrians in the city cross busy streets: they will walk when the light is green and cross 5 lanes of traffic even when vehicles are zipping by. They feel invincible and if they feel this way about vehicles, they definitely feel this way about bicyclists. Pedestrians walk in or cut across bike lanes because they feel that bicyclists, like vehicles, will stop for them and that it isn't a big deal. But this mentality needs to be broken because from what I've learned while working, bicyclists need a safe space and they never deserve their own right of way. Everyone in the city is typically in a rush, and if everyone feels invincible, Vision Zero will never work. So as a pedestrian, be smart and remember that you do not own the road. You're sharing it with vehicles, and now, bicyclists.

Colorblind Cyclists - Why Bikes Should Be Allowed To Run Red Lights

So you’re driving, waiting at the stop light, obeying the law. Okay, maybe you’re on facebook – but that’s just a technicality, you’re basically being a responsible driver and following most of the important road rules. You look out the window while you’re deciding whether your friend’s status deserves a ‘like’ or not, only to see a cyclist zoom past, glance up at the light, see that it’s red, and then keep going right through the intersection. How annoying – cyclists should obey the law like everybody else, right? Drivers hold these truths to be self-evident, all vehicles are created equal, etc.

Well, no.

There is no good reason why cyclists should be obliged to stop at red lights. On the other hand, there are (at least) four good reasons why cyclists should be allowed to run red lights. The first is cyclist safety, the second is that the methods used to decide that red lights should exist are designed for cars and not applicable to cyclists, and the third is car driver convenience, and the last is cost. Specifically, cyclists should legally be required to treat a red light as if it were a stop sign, and a stop sign as if it were a yield sign.

Currently, Idaho is the only state which has such a law (since 1982). Some European capitals like Paris and Amsterdam have something similar, and London Mayor Sadiq Khan apparently said before his recent election win that he would consider it in London.

Cyclist Safety
In the year after the Idaho Stop was introduced, cycling accidents fell 15%, and now Idaho has 30% better bike safety than comparable cities without the law. Current fashionable planning focuses on bike lanes, but the reality is that intersections/junctions are responsible for between 60% and 75% of cyclist crashes (higher than for cars at 40%). There is evidence that other cycling law-breaking maneuvers, such as riding on the sidewalk or the wrong way up the street, are the cause of many of the bike-car crashes where the cyclist is at fault, but running red lights is not one of them. One of the main causes of cyclist-car crashes is right-turning traffic hitting a cyclist in their blindspot (note: in the UK this is a left turn). Running a red light allows cyclists to clear the intersection ahead of the left turning cars, without having to delay the cars at all.

Where Do Signals Even Come From?
A quick look at the Federal Highway Department website shows 9 factors (or ‘warrants’) that lead to implementing signals at intersections, and every single one of them is comically inapplicable to cyclists. A quick read through makes it clear that bikes have not been considered at all when designing traffic lights, and so we should naturally question their place in them rather than assuming without any good reason that they should act the same as cars, which weighs 40 times as much and travels at over three times the speed (for 400x the kinetic energy...)

The first 'warrants' are about vehicle volume – counting cyclists is even optional. Clearly the volumes of cyclists are not enough to trigger the installation of a traffic signal. Warrant 4 refers to pedestrian volume – with an Idaho Stop cyclists must give way to pedestrians on a red light, so this isn’t relevant. Warrant 5 is school crossing. I’m willing to concede that bikes should have to stop at red lights for school crossings. Warrant 6 is based on coordinating signal timing with other intersections. Since those timings are done for car speeds and not bike speeds, bikes will be out of synch regardless so this isn’t relevant. Warrant 7 is that there are too many crashes and adequate trial of alternatives … has failed to reduce the crash frequency. And the only trial of an alternative is Idaho, and it’s been a success, so we can’t rely on warrant 7. Warrant 8 is about traffic density and warrant 9 is about railway crossings. So nowhere is it actually decided that cyclists need traffic signals. The warrants were formulated based on vehicle size, stopping time, and travel speeds which are entirely irrelevant to cyclists.

Car Driver Convenience
I’ll keep this short. If a bike at the front of the queue has to wait for a red light, a car (especially one turning right) has to wait for the bike to move before it can go. If the cyclist has crossed on the red, the car is free to turn.

Cost
Installing bike priority signals, ‘bike boxes’, or other infrastructure changes to improve bike safety at intersections is expensive. Changing the law so that bikes are allowed to run red lights leads to the same safety improvements (if you don’t believe me, ask Idaho!), is instantly applied to all intersections, and at a fraction of the price.

Intersections and traffic lights have been designed for motor vehicles, and are dangerous places for cyclists. Allowing cyclists to run red lights improves their safety at virtually no financial cost. Clearing cyclists from intersections also benefits cars (reducing their start-up time), and improves trip times for cyclists, so everybody wins. So what’s stopping it?

Audit Reveals problems with NYC Bike Share

Based on data collected by Citi Bike riders take about 34,000 rides per day as of last August. That being said, these bikes must be inspected on a frequent basis. In addition, maintenance, cleanliness of bikes must be check along with the docking station.
But based on the audit of the New York bike share program, it shows poor maintenance, cleanliness of bikes and defective parking stations are becoming an inconvenience for user. This in the long-run will discouraging the growth of the system. The maintenance data shows that 54 percent of the bikes were inspected last March and 73 in April but based on the contract the City has, 100 percent  maintenance check must happen at least once a month. This lack of maintenance checks  increases the bikes risk of becoming defective, which might cause issues if a customer decides to rent that particular bike. Based on the audit, the docking stations are also lacking inspections and maintenance.
This audit paved out specific concern New Yorker's  had about the bike program. The New CEO Jay Walder, who was the MTA Chairman said that the company is hard at work reinventing Citi bike with much better service for the coming years.
In my opinion Citi bikes should have a maintenance/inspection indicator that lets the customer know when was the last time this bike was inspected and maintenance was done on it. While also letting them know if it safe to ride. This might be a little risky at first but knowing that these bikes will be on a schedule inspection/maintenance list, will allow customers  feel more secure. The same concept can be applied to the docking stations for better transparency.

Source:
http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2014/12/12/audit-reveals-problems-with-nyc-bike-share-program/

Poor Pulaski!

The Pulaski Bridge in New York City connects Long Island City in Queens to Greenpoint in Brooklyn over Newtown Creek. It was named after Polish military commander and American Revolutionary War fighter Kazimierz Pułaski (Casimir Pulaski) because of the large Polish-American population in Greenpoint. It connects 11th Street in Queens to McGuinness Boulevard (formerly Oakland Street) in Brooklyn.

The construction process of the bikeway was supposed to be finished last December. However, DOT crews are taking advantage of the frighteningly warmer-than-usual late fall weather to make serious progress

.
When the bikeway is complete, pedestrians and cyclists will have a lot more room and won’t have to share the crowded path on the west side of the bridge. The concrete barrier separating the bike lane from motor vehicle traffic consists of both pre-cast and cast-in-place segments. As of yesterday, the barrier appeared to cover the whole span, but work on it was clearly still going on. Closing the slip lane on the Queens side of the bridge is also a work in progress.

 The crews finally managed to begin work this September. So will the bikeway be complete before the winter freeze pauses construction? That's the burning question I am eagerly awaiting an answer for!

bike path near dyckman!!

Sooo I stay at 207th st! Our lovely college- the city college of new York is on the 145th. So, sometimes I like to bike the distance. I always use the bike path to get to the college. Even though, the bike ride is great fun when I leave in the morning to get to the college, but when I am getting back home which I do normally at around 8-9 pm, that's when  things start getting really difficult!!

Firstly, as soon as I enter the bike path, there is no lights of any sorts on the pathway which could easily lead to collisions between bikers and lead to severe accidents.
Because there is no light at all, it is difficult to see what is on the road and this has actually led to me falling off my bike due to a huge crack in the road in the middle of the pathway.
At nights, there is no one there which makes it a sweet soft for drug dealers and people of those sorts.
I remember I was once getting into the pathway at 8 pm when a man who was sitting there called out after me saying "why don't you just hand me your bike here itself!". That's the safety issue associated with the Dyckman bike path.
Something has to be done to make this path for safe and secure for bikers like me. After all, the path leads to the incredible Dyckman Marina and the beautiful Inwood park!!!

Biking NYC

When Alta Bicycle Share announced the news for the Citi Bike bicycle sharing system, I welcomed the news with lots of excitement.  Having a shared biking system had always appealed to me and especially because that meant a few stations would be installed in my neighborhood, East Village.  That meant a lot to me because I could now bike to work without having to worry about where to park my personal bike. I have loved biking ever since I was a child. I would always believe that bikes give you the flexibility to explore those city parts that I could not explore otherwise on foot. Not only did I love and appreciate the flexibility that the biking offered me by taking me from one place to another a lot faster as well as saving me money, but also I was very intrigued by the very mechanics of the bike. It has always been my passion to taking the bike apart and put it back together. I have always enjoyed doing all the repairs myself not only because it was more affordable, but also because it made me feel a lot more connected with the bike and that created a feeling of self-accomplishment.

After arriving in New York City from Europe, it felt as if the urban scale were overwhelming when compared to the human scale. Cycling the streets of New York City felt as if I were crossing the Atlantic Ocean with a kayak. However, I was determined that I was not going to let the concrete jungle dry my long time passion for cycling. I always biked to and from work and school every day. While adjusting to the Manhattan life, the bike became my best friend. Not only did I use it for commuting to work, but also I would bike around the city to explore more of the city’s amazing architecture, thus appreciating even more the other passion of mine, the career as an Architect.

Thus, Citi Bike launched in May of 2013, opening 332 stations that contained a total of 6,000 bikes to share among the New York City residents. This brought me lots of joy and at the same time lots of curiosity on the installation of this bike sharing system. I was now very content that I did not have to worry again about any flat tires, thieves, or any other problems associated with parking the bike in the streets. Furthermore, the protected bike lane was installed on the First Avenue, which enhanced the safety of the bike riders as well as made the street feel a little more people friendly. Ever since the installation of Citi Bike, I have been making use of this bike location, which is conveniently installed near my apartment building as well as near my office building in Midtown.  Although Citi Bike did feel as Hummers in the beginning, the benefits overweighed the disadvantages as I now did not have to worry about finding a secure spot to lock my own bike; Citi Bike has many locations all around the city. Thus, I went ahead and enrolled for the annual membership. 

The bikes were designed to be mainly durable, thus making it a little uncomfortable as you ride. The phone app is very useful because it shows not only where the closed stations are, but also how many bikes the other stations have left. The real time data convenience through the app motivated me even more to sign up for the yearly membership. 

The Citi Bike shared system was the first of its kind installed in New York City. As such, initially, it was not coordinated very properly, as some stations were full and others empty. However, the company, with the development of more data, started using trucks to move bikes around the city to fulfil New Yorker’s needs. For example, East Village is mostly a residential neighborhood. As such, there is a great demand for bikes in the early morning when people leave for work, but there are no free ducking spaces to duck the bike when you return from work. On the other hand, the opposite happens in Midtown, for example in Grand Central, where the majority of the buildings are commercial. 

Although I enjoyed riding the Citi Bike for an entire year, I did miss riding my own, customized fixed gear bike as I had built it myself. I strongly believe that Citi Bike is a great tool to have for riding to and from work or school, that is short distances. Citi Bike did change my views for the better towards bike riding. I did extend the membership for another year as I now introduced my wife towards riding the bike to work. As for myself, I am back to riding the bike that I customized. This bike was especially useful when I did the Tour de Bronx in October of 2015 and successfully completed 44 miles of biking around the Bronx; a dream that came true. 

However, regardless of what kind of bike I use, Citi Bike will always come in handy especially when I get flat tires or other similar problems.

Thank you

for visiting and reading!

Ermir Gjoka 

Vélo'v OR Citibike?

I finally got around to the idea of getting a $9.00 "one day pass" for Citibike and experience the system.

When Citibike was launched, Manhattan was the only borough where Citibike was implemented, soon it expanded into Brooklyn and Queens. We heard so much about Citibike being a truly sustainable option for the everyday commuter.  I agree,  the expansion was necessary in order to bring the city together to the idea of commuting by bicycles and many people rushed to sign-on, However, the Citibike bicycle sharing idea is not quite there yet.

Yes, we have some obvious issues with infrastructure, there are not enough bicycle lanes and for sure not enough regulations protecting the commuters. These are to be solved by the city officials. At a cost of $9.00 for a day pass and $149.00 membership for a year, for those commuters whom consciously choose to curve their carbon footprint by riding a bicycle; is this really a fare rate? and most important, is this really a system that fits within a city framework of trying to achieve sustainable living conditions?

I have used many bike sharing systems before, not just in the US but also in other countries, and I always find them ranging in prices, from surprisingly low to extremely high (Citibike). Then, my interest was... WHY??? Why is the bike sharing system so complex and unpredictable?

I figured I would use this time to compare Vélo'v with Citibike. Vélo'v is the bike sharing system in the small city of Lyon - France. I haven't been there yet -- a quick Google search will prompt you to tons of pictures showcasing its medieval and Renaissance architecture, you can imagine why bicycles are the preferred transport alternative for residents.

Vélo'v is a privately-run public bicycle network. Catering to Lyon's population of 470,000, with around 2,000 bicycles distributed around 175 bicycle stations in an area of 50 km2.  In the city center you are within 400 meters from a bicycle station, the best part is that 10 Euros will buy you a year membership with 30 min unlimited rides; and for longer periods, 1 Euro fee for each extra hour. Also, for those visiting the city, a weekly subscription is available for only 1 Euro.

SO? Are we overpaying for Citibike?

Citibike is also a privatly-run network. The network today aims to cater the total 8.5 million people living in the City. "Thousands" of bikes distributed around 600 Citibike stations in an area of 303 Km2. In Manhattan you are "X" miles meters from a cycle station.  Finally, $149.00 will buy you a year membership for 45 min ride (this increase was recently done from 30 min - 45 min) and $9.00 will allow you to use the blue bike for a day with fees ranging from $2.50 - $9.00 for overtime use. Also, visitors can purchase the weekly subscription for $25, with overtime fees applicable.

The answer is: "YES" in comparison to Vélo'v we are overpaying for technically the same bike.

Notice that "Thousands and X" mean that there is not data for those factors and that the unequal distribution of Citibike docking stations make it even harder for commuters to use the system efficiently.

Well, obviously comparing an small city with New York City doesn't seem quite fair. The ratios do not make sense and I am sure someone could analyze this discussions extensively. In my opinion, the fact that it is not economically sound make Citibike an unsustainable system. Therefore, any bike sharing system that is that expensive or even higher in cost should really be scrutinized in favor to the public. Policies that favor the public and not necessarily these failing business models.

If you made it this far reading my boring analysis, you probably guessed that I did not rent the Citibike. Instead, I went down to the old bike shop and bought myself a bike ON-SALE.
I figured it will payoff next spring when the weather allows.

-------ER--------

Zagster ABQ: A different model of bike share

Over our long Yum Kipper Break I headed out to visit some friends in Albuquerque, New Mexico (and return with a 48 hour train trip back to New York to have relaxation time). I wasn’t really planning to bike in Albuquerque, normally I find bike rentals to be expensive and generally just get around on public transportation and foot when I visit a new city. This all changed on Sunday afternoon when I drove downtown with my friend to experience the second annual ABQ CiQlovía (another event I didn’t know about until just after I arrived). ABQ CiQlovia is Albuquerque’s version of Summer Streets in New York or CicLAvia in Los Angeles. The closed to cars corridor felt extremely short at only 1 mile long (not worth acquiring a bike to ride). We did have a nice walk from the Civic Center to the Rail Yards market and back. As we finished walking, to return to the car and visit a different neighborhood to grab lunch (no restaurants in downtown seemed to be open on Sundays) I saw it, a bike share rack for Zagster! Alburquerque's bike share program.

            I immediately Googled Zagster and discovered this service is the ultimate locally organized and sponsored bike share. A business can pay different amounts of money for different levels of sponsorship, number of bikes outside, and different numbers off free passes for their employees. I also was amazed at how cheap their price list was to the general public, with a 24-hour day pass costing only $3 (granted their only about 13 stations) for unlimited 90 minute rentals.

Map (Zagster ABQ Website): 

Sponsorship Levels (DowntownABQ Website):

Riding Zagster (and the app):

Monday morning I had the Southwest Chief to catch at Noon. My friend dropped me off at the Amtrak Station/Main downtown Alvarado Transportation Center on his way to work. I left my suitcase at luggage storage and fired up the Zagster App. I then walked to the nearest rack, not in front the Alvarado Transportation Center but a block north in front of the Downtown Movie Theater (that had sponsored a rack).

I went through the app to register and purchase a $3 day pass using the app was easy, I then chose a bike, entered the code on my iPhone, got the lock box opened on the second try with the code given to me, got the key and unlocked the standard bike lock.

Note: Photos and screenshots taken at Different times during my Zagster Experience, these  all explain how Zagster work!

I then head down Historic Route 66! Riding I really wish that I'm warring a bike helmet! I am a Founding Citibike Member (and am used to riding the tanks that are Citibikes. There something about their sturdiness and slow speeds that make me feel safe riding without a helmet. Zagster, on the other hand, uses conventional and much lighter normal 7-speed Cruiser Bikes. I’m a bit of an aggressive rider and really feel like I was making good speed, just like on my own personal bike. The bike lane on route 66 (listed in Google as a bike route was also hit-and-miss).

I then ride a couple miles into Old Town, the most touristy part of Alburquerque that my friend says is a place he refuses to go (like Times Square you could say for New Yorkers).

Old Town is a tourist trap that feels a lot more lame, and less genuinely old, than New Mexico's more famous and larger Spanish Mission Style Old Town in Santa Fe. I end up locking up and ending this Zagster rental there, in the rack sponsored by the New Mexico Museum of Natural History. A block east of the Old Town Square since no business in the center of Old Town has sponsored a rack. To lock a bike you use the lockbox again, to get the key and lock the conventional U-Lock to a Zagster Rack. You then have to hit "End Rental" in the app, as a screen yells at me to make sure I'm actually locking my Zagster up at a Designated Zagster Rack (basically a regular bike rack with Zagster logos).

I take a short walk in Old Town, not all that impressed and decide that my last hour+ in Santa Fe before my train would be much better spent going on a longer bike ride. I walk to the entrance (through a parking lot) of the Bio Park to pick up my next Zagster. This rack has one bike nearly overgrown by a green (it's the end of a relatively rainy, by ABQ standards summer) shrubbery.

I ask someone and walk past the entrances to the botanical gardens and aquarium and find the Rio Grande Bike Path. This is a nice protected bike path along the extremely namesake river. I ride south until I'm a couple miles south of the train station, and realize I'm near the train tracks and might as well ride along them north. I cross the tracks and see the light of my train (that sits in Albuquerque for about an hour for it's middle of the second day service stop on its 2 day journey from Los Angeles to New York), zooming north for the station.

I head north towards the train station, on an empty two-lane road with sharrows.

I get back to the movie theater rack across from the transit center/train station and lock my bike up.

As I walk back to the station and am waiting in line at the ticket office to retrieve my suitcase I realize I've forgotten a step. Electronically ending my ride through the Zagster app!

I board my Amtrak Roomette Sleeper Car, and settle in, taking advatage of the trains onboard shower to get clean after my two hour bike ride. My overall impressions of Zagster is that it's a system that works well for small cities trying to do a 'pilot' bike share program with little government planning (Cleveland also uses Zagster for what's described as )

First timer in Central Park

September 27^th, 2015

           

            Today, for the first time in my 6 years of living in here New York City, I went on a bike ride. Now, I’ve learned myself from growing up in Long Island, but riding a bicycle in NYC can be one challenging task. Personally I don’t even feel safe driving a regular car in the city because of the natural up-tempo personalities people have; which can cause danger when put behind the wheel. Now to combine hectic drivers with cyclists on the same city streets, is just calling for a disaster to happen. I’m okay with mass transit. All it takes is one pedestrian to wave his or her hand – the summoning for a taxi – and a cab will dart, perpendicular to traffic, across 3 lanes, sending a harmless cyclist on a nice trip to the emergency room. But today, I figured (also because it’s required for class) let me go for a bike ride. I found a rental agency online located on East 55^th Street, where I was able to get bike and head over to Central Park. Leaving the rental shop was a little nerve-racking as it was my first time on a city street with a bike, on top of that the associate at the bike rental couldn’t give me a firm answer on when the bike was last serviced so the brakes could’ve given out right in the middle of 6^th avenue – Nice. But I began to feel comfortable after a couple of peddles in. It was only a few blocks to the park, and there was bike lane most of the way, but on 6^th avenue I had to merge into regular traffic with cars and taxis. Unfortunately – because of the value I have on my life – I wasn’t able to capture a photo of the exciting scene of biking through traffic.

I made it to the park! I’ve always thought of Central Park as a cool and tranquil attraction that everyone should try and escape to, but after experiencing a bike ride along the paths, it is now a must-do. 9am on a Sunday and the Park was loaded with people. For most on bikes, like myself, it was a time to just glide and take in the scenery; others decided this is where they’re going to train for the Tour de France. I had to pay close attention for a zipping sound – which would indicate someone was on bike approaching me at a very high speed – in order to make a safe turn. I may have lost the ability to do a wheelie, but being on the bike took me back to the memories of being younger when I would stay out of the house for hours, care-free. After one big lap around the park, I decided to take my trip back to the regular streets as I still had two hours left of my rental. I ended up on Park Avenue where the view was incredible of simple non-extravagant building architecture.

 This bike ride seems to be the start of a new routine I may now incorporate into my Sunday mornings. I look forward to take advantage of the comfortable weather as it is here.

Biking in NYC by a non-biker - Ana Ynestrillas

I´ve been living in NYC for over a year and have always had the best of the intentions on giving CitiBike a try it just hadn´t happened yet. Because of the usual concerns that any common non biker would have about biking in a city like NYC. Its crazy traffic can scare anyone.

Nevertheless taking a class on sustainable transportation meant that I could no longer postpone this. I needed to use the bike sharing program in order to understand holistically the complex transportation system of NYC in order to be able to judge it more assertively.

Without even looking for it, there it was ... During my regular Sunday routine which consits in going to a coffee shop a few blocks away from my apt. to study, I bumped into a CitiBike stand where they were giving out free 2 week CitiBike trials.

   They armed me with everything I needed my key,a Bike map , a Guide to Cycling in NYC, a $10 discount cupon on a helmet and an invitation to a CitiBike Street Skills Class which I went to . I figured no harm in going. There they gave us a few tips about biking in the City which were quite helpful refreshing my memory since it had been years since I last biked. There I meet Emma a Danish girl who´s in New York doing research for her thesis project which will be on the cycling culture in NYC she´ll be reading this blog, hope its helpful.

Next step: a helmet , despite them not being mandatory I think their use is very important. Which I got from a biker friend who was kind enough to give me as much advice as he could before setting me on the road.

After all this process I was finally ready to get on the bike amazingly it went way better than what I could have expected I loved it . Found it actually easier than what I imagined felt way safer and found that cars are aware of you and not against you I did most of my short commutes on the bike and found it more effcient than using the subway. As there is little connectivity from east to west and vice versa by subway I find CitiBike the perfect way of filling this gap.

NYC Bike Path Experience by Loriann Joseph

On Saturday, September 13, 2014, I went bicycling on the NYC bike path that runs parallel to the Westside highway. I entered the bike path uptown near 95th Street and exited downtown at the Freedom Tower / World Financial Center area. My round trip was approximately 15 miles, which took me about two and half hours to complete. The weather was overcast and in the low 70's which made it ideal for bicycling. I will breakdown my experience into 2 categories, “Uptown Experience” (above 59th Street) and “Downtown Experience” (at or below 59th Street).

Uptown Experience

There are trees separating the actual bike path from the Westside Highway. As a result, bike trail users’ exposure to harmful emissions from the vehicles travelling on the highway, is significantly reduced.

In addition, certain sections of the bike path in this area have segregated “pedestrian only” paths which foster a leisure-oriented environment.

Downtown Experience

I experienced a change in the air quality once I got below 59th Street. The bike path in the downtown area comes in very close contact with vehicular traffic, which negatively impacts the air quality.

Traffic light features were added to the bike path in this area due to its close proximity to passing vehicles on the roadway. However, users tend not to obey the light features and rely on their own perception of danger.

The usage of the bike facility in lower Manhattan is mixed. Similar to upper Manhattan, I spotted pedestrians and joggers. For the first time, I could see mostly tourists commuting on Citi bikes between midtown and uptown. There were also bicyclists using the facilities for business related purposes. For example, I saw messengers from a company named Lacoste utilizing the bike path.

My overall experience on the bike path was pleasant. Despite the multi-usage of the path, the flow was good. With lack of access to the Citi-bike App, bike path users are at a loss as to the location of nearby docking stations. Therefore, coupled with the App, I would also like to see more signage along the path indicating where the nearest Citi bike dock stations are located, since only one docking station at Chambers Street is located on the path.

In an effort to make the bike system more cohesive with other modes, integration with other forms of transportation should be considered. Citi-bike docking facilities could be strategically set up near designated bus/train stations. This would encourage more usage if people perceived the facilities as being more accessible and user-friendly.

Bicycle Lane and Bike Share Policy Review by Slavica Mickovic

  

Over a year has passed since Citi Bike became part of the New York City transit program family and it has become indispensable to the city’s dwellers and visitors in rotation.

Despite the occasional negative reviews portrayed in the media, user statistics show that the program has been a tremendous success. To date, there are more than one hundred thousand annual members and over seven million rides taken. However positive the reputation, financial statistics reveal that the program is in jeopardy and in need of urgent support. Unlike other city transit family members, Citi Bike is unsubsidized. A 24-hour pass costs $10.00 and annual membership fee sells for $95.00; in short, this is not enough to keep the bikes rolling.

Sunday, September 7, 2014, was my first bike share ride experience and I could not have chosen a better day! The weather was beautiful, sunny and clear. My trip started at Columbus Circle just before 1:00 pm and it was there that I faced my first obstacle.

Buying a pass at the station kiosk was a bit frustrating- the system rejected my credit card twice before accepting another card. Then, the code was incorrect and I had to begin again. I overheard people who were waiting in line behind me saying that incorrect codes were a common occurrence and it often took two or three times before receiving one that worked. I was unsure at first, how the experience was going to turn out.

After checking all of the recommendations provided in the kiosk display, I chose to ride down 60th Street to 9th Avenue, and then south to 14th Street. I continued pedaling east down 14th Street and then ended my ride at the Jackson Square Park station at Greenwich Street and 8th Avenue. During the ride, I exchanged the bike once at a docking station- it was simple.

Despite a few bumps, I had a good experience, though I was slow to warm up. Since this was my first time riding a bike on the streets of New York City, it took me until my final destination to get comfortable and recognize the appeal. Unfortunately, the bike lanes I rode on were in the same sorry condition as the streets and avenues themselves, and there were too many delivery bikes riding in the wrong direction. However, as the time passed, I got used to the chaos and my fears melted away. These bike lanes allowed me to travel separate from traffic, above ground, and experience the excitement of the city around me. Once at my final destination I felt energized and free.

Over the following weekends, I took several more rides on various routes. A ride from Grand Central Station to 14^th Street and 8^th Avenue e.g., took only 10 minutes. Could it be faster with a cab? Perhaps not! Well, maybe less ‘sweaty’! Nonetheless these rides reinforced my initial feelings of the Citi Bike ride as a positive experience.

In large cities, such as New York City, bike sharing programs are absolutely vital to city dwellers and their well being. Should we expect that everything in a big city like this will run without a problem? Even the subways jam up from time to time. Perhaps there should be more policies to help the program thrive. And perhaps more road rules would need to be adopted. Maybe if people were given tickets for misbehaving, like the delivery people riding in the wrong direction, the money could be appropriated to subsidize the project. That is just one idea that I might entertain since I would like to see Citi Bike remain and even become an intermodal part of the transit family. As far as I’m concerned, I am planning to make bike-riding a part of my daily routine, and will most likely purchase my very own annual pass!

The previous text was written during the month of September, 2014. It is currently mid-November, 2014, and several important events and changes have happened in regard to the future of the bike sharing program in New York City.

First and foremost is the news that the bike share program is ‘growing up’, as it is growing in many cities in the United States. In New York City, a new generation of the bike share program is on its way, and the new proprietors have promised to double the size of the program by the end of 2017.

For New Yorkers, this means the addition of twelve thousand new bikes, the expansion of the current number of bike stations to over seven hundred, and expansion of services into new areas. New coverage areas would include 59^th Street to Harlem just above 125^th Street, expanded Brooklyn zones such as Greenpoint, and introduction into some areas in Queens such as Astoria and Long Island City.

At the same time, Mayor de Blasio launched his ‘Vision Zero Action Plan’, two-decade goal of eliminating all traffic deaths and serious injuries on New York City streets. In order to achieve this goal, many new measures and actions will need to take place. Some of these actions are already underway, such as the enactment of the speed-limit reduction law that should contribute significantly to safer streets for all participants. Many more actions and measures are needed.

One measure that could help achieve the Mayor’s goal would be to slow traffic through traffic-calming measures such as raised crosswalks and intersections, speed bumps and other measures outlined in the Urban Bikeway Design Guide (http://nacto.org/cities-for-cycling/design-guide/ ). Better education regarding bicycle driving and sharing the road through driving safety classes, public workshops, and school curricula would contribute to greater safety on shared city roads. Reducing the total number of motor vehicles in the city through planning and law enforcement would undoubtedly contribute to calmer, safer roads.

With safer streets and growing ridership on the way, improvements to the bike share program itself should be considered. One recommendation would be to increase the number of shared bikes within the vicinity of significant public transit hubs such as Penn Station, Grand Central Station, and the new Fulton Street Transit Center, to name just a few. Introducing signage indicating the locations of bike stations and adding timers on the bikes to help reduce overtime charges would increase the user-friendliness of the program. Posting a ‘hot-line’ at docking stations and on the program’s website for user comments could identify many more ideas to help the bike share program grow into an integral, safe and enjoyable part life in New York City.