Lifestyle & Culture

Despite Glitches and Critics, Citi Bikers Take to the Road

Since Citi Bike rolled out in late May, its campaign to get people pedaling around the city has been criticized for its bike rental prices, its broken bike locks, its consumption of sidewalk and street space and so forth.

Despite those complaints, the program also has its fans.

“Anything to make getting around the city easier,” said Benjamin Lorr, 29, a West Village resident who resorted to Citi Bike after his own bike was stolen.

Bicycles thieves also hit Kazumi Arikawa, 35, of Fort Green Brooklyn, swiping his last two personally owned bikes. As an alternative, Arikawa said, Citi Bike is “easier, it’s worry free.”

Bike theft victims aren’t the only riders opting for Citi Bike. More than 61,000 New Yorkers, so far, have bought annual memberships. The program gives them a faster, cheaper, relatively convenient mode of transportation, some riders said.

“It’s great,” said Zachary Arrick, 28, an East Village resident. “Walking is slow and annoying, so if you can bike across town, uptown, [or] downtown, in a third of time and don’t have to go inside the subway, I think it’s great.”

The New York City Department of Transportation runs Citi Bike, which is modeled after programs in Boston, Mass.; Chattanooga, Tenn.; Chicago, Ill.; Columbus, Ohio; Washington D.C.; Melbourne, Australia; and Montreal, Canada.

Justin Ahiyon, 29, a manager at Café Orlin, near the intersection of Second Avenue and St. Mark’s Place, has a firsthand view of Citi Bike’s popularity among some people. But the bikes and docking station, to him, are unsightly.

“It is a bit ugly,” said Ahiyon, who also sees the pluses of Citi Bike. “But, at the same time, they’re really being used and people are loving it and benefiting from it… [The docking stations] are all empty on some days and all full at the end of the night, so they’re definitely being used.”

For now, Citi Bikes are available in various locations stretching from the tip of Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, to the southern edge of Central Park in Manhattan. Next year, the bikes will be available in areas that span from Williamsburg to Astoria. For now, there are no plans for Citi Bike in Staten Island or the Bronx.

Continued expansion would have widespread benefits, some Citi Bikers said.

“It solves three problems” said Teddy Himler, 27, a San Francisco native who frequently visits New York. He spoke while on a Citi Bike, waiting for a red light to turn green.

“One [is] congestion. There’s definitely less traffic, there are people who are not taking their cars out. Number two, it cuts down on carbon emissions … And, three, I’d say it cuts down on [body] fat.”