NEW YORK — Today Lyft and the New York City Department of Transportation launched Citi Bike’s expansion in Sunset Park, as part of a 93 docking station Brooklyn expansion, which will also include Windsor Terrace and Greenwood Heights. The service area will now extend from 15th street as far south as 67th Street, and beyond the south west corner of Prospect Park to Church Avenue. These stations continue what is the largest expansion year in Citi Bike’s history.
In January, two new Citi Bike stations were installed adjacent to the Brooklyn Army Terminal NYU Langone mass vaccination site. The new stations and docking capacity will provide New Yorkers with vaccine appointments with a new transportation option to help them get to the site while practicing social distancing. “Throughout this pandemic, New Yorkers relied heavily on Citi Bike as a safe and reliable transportation option, and today we are thrilled to announce this new expansion farther into Brooklyn,” said DOT Commissioner Henry Gutman. “The expansion brings essential infrastructure to vital and diverse neighborhoods, giving residents easy access to a sustainable, safe, and low-cost transportation alternative. We set an ambitious goal to bring more bikes to even more communities in 2021, and we would like to thank our Lyft partners for getting the year started right." "With this latest expansion in South Brooklyn, we are excited to give even more New Yorkers the opportunity to get to an essential workplace, the grocery store, the park, or wherever they are going," said Laura Fox, General Manager for Citi Bike at Lyft. "These are vibrant neighborhoods with bustling job centers along the waterfront; access to seven vital subway lines; and vibrant open spaces like Prospect Park, Sunset Park, and Greenwood Cemetery. When combined with in-app transit information on the new Citi Bike app, it’s never been easier for Brooklynites to take sustainable, affordable, and reliable multi-modal trips. We look forward to our continued partnership with NYCDOT and Mayor De Blasio as we continue to grow this great system.”
“As an avid biker myself, I’ve been pushing to get Citi Bike docks placed in Sunset Park. I’m pleased this is finally happening and look forward to the added mobility it will bring,” said New York City Council Member Carlos Menchaca. “Moving forward, we need more coordination on placing docks to ensure maximum usage and minimum disruption. But this is a welcome event as we continue our vaccination efforts and expand transit alternatives throughout the City, especially in predominantly immigrant communities.”
“We are excited about the expansion into South Brooklyn which means continuing the mission to provide access to equitable and affordable transportation in areas that need it,” said Miguel Centeno, VP, Community Engagement, Healthfirst. “With these new docking stations, Citi Bike reaches key communities that can benefit from the Reduced Fare Bike Share program which we are proud to say has continued to grow and be a lifeline for many New Yorkers during this past year.”
"It's the middle of the winter and New York City is still in the middle of a bike boom. It is great to see Lyft and NYC DOT meeting the moment and expanding Citi Bike deeper in Brooklyn," said Danny Harris, Executive Director of Transportation Alternatives. "Prioritizing people over cars on New York City streets is central to our new NYC 25x25 report, and one of the best ways to do so is by bringing bike share to more communities. At the same time, we must also grow the protected bike lane network, and Transportation Alternatives will continue to work with the de Blasio administration and local communities to ensure everyone has safe streets."
Citi Bike is the most widely used bikeshare 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. Last year alone, nearly 900,000 Citi Bike riders pedaled over 42.1 million miles. 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 Workers Program, Citi Bike and MasterCard generously helped support nearly 30,000 free memberships, resulting in more than 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 2023, doubling the footprint of the network. This expansion added 18 neighborhoods to the system last year, and new stations will also be added in Manhattan and the Bronx after the South Brooklyn expansion is complete, following an expansion in Astoria earlier this year. Citi Bike has more than 19,000 bikes at more than 1,200 stations and works with more than 60 community partners across New York City. The system also includes over 3,700 ebikes. Late last year, Lyft also launched the first Equity Advisory Council for bikeshare, gathering together 20 organizations to provide an equity lens and guidance for Citi Bike’s expansion.
The annual cost of a Citi Bike membership is $179 with an annual commitment. NYCHA residents, SNAP recipients, and members of select community development credit unions are eligible to receive discounted $5/month memberships. Nearly 8,000 New Yorkers access reliable transportation through this Reduced Fare Bikeshare program.
Annual members can unlock a bike from any station, allowing unlimited free trips up to 45 minutes on classic bikes as well as reduced per-minute ebike fees. Day Passes are available for purchase at any Citi Bike station or through the Citi Bike app and provide unlimited 30-minute trips. Reduced cost memberships are available for $5 per month through the Reduced Fare Bikeshare Program presented by Healthfirst for NYCHA residents and SNAP recipients.