Citi Commute

The NYC CitiBikes are here. I’m a member, so basically I can grab a bike anywhere and ride for up to 45 minutes for free (not really free, I paid the annual membership). The bike racks are all over the place in my neighborhood, including right outside my office.

The bike share concept makes you think a little differently. If I had a dentist appointment in the middle of the day, to ride there, lock up the bike, go to the dentist and ride back would be pushing the 45 minute limit (you can keep them longer, you just pay).

But that’s not how you have to think.

I would grab a bike outside my office and ride to the closest rack to the dentist’s office and return the bike. 10 minutes. Then after my appointment, I’d grab a different bike and ride back. Each ride has to be fewer than 45 minutes.

The concept only works if there are racks everywhere. And for me, they pretty much are.

The bikes aren’t anything fancy. They are obviously built for durability, not speed. They are heavy, sturdy 3-speeds. They have this interesting basket in the front with no sides and a built in bungee cord. So today leaving my office I had my scooter with me. But I had to go someplace where I knew there was a bike rack and it was far enough that the speed different bike vs. scooter made the bike better. So I folded the scooter, stuck it in the bike basket and rode. To make the  Brooklyn experience complete, I scootered the half block from the rack to the store.

We’ll see how well CitiBikes work in the long run, but I think it’s a winner.