Two Steps Back
Why has Citi Bike removed all of the improvements which had been made? You can no longer report a station that is offline or when a ride will not end. If a bike will not release you have to go through the chat and waste time waiting for a response. Many stations have been on and off line lately...probably because so many people are leaving their trash around the docks...and there are more rats around the stations nibbling at the wires. The app was finally offering features to make it easier to address stations offline and suddenly we went back to the dark ages. In addition, many stations suggest there are classic bikes available, when there are not. Is this simply a way to manipulate riders into paying for ebikes? How is that fair? If there are no classic bikes in real life, there should be a way to report the discrepancy. And if you get charged through a deduction of existing credits, there is no way to track that information and report it. It shows zero charges within ride history...yet credits are secretly being deducted from existing reward balances. Some stations have had inaccurate totals for months with no adjustments. Some also show available docks when there are none. I even noticed on with a dock sectioned off by fencing for construction last night on Cherry Street, making it impossible to dock a bike anywhere in the neighborhood. There must be a better way to report these issues than having to log onto this platform after a long and busy night. We cannot possibly remember all of the challenges faced earlier in the evening by the time we arrive home at night.
A glitch in the system
As i rebalance bikes for citibike, sometimes i end up being charged for taking an ebike when there are no available classic bikes. For short rides this doesnt amount to much money. But every now and then i take the trouble to call in or write to let them know and to ask to be credited the mistaken charge. Here is my response to lyfts latest response: Oss Youre missing the point. Im letting you know that your program is not working as it should. If a bike angel takes an ebike when there is no classic bike available, they're not supposed to be charged. I am well aware of the low assist option. If you had checked my profile you would have seen i had selected that option last year. Yesterday and today i rebalanced bikes for you but your system is not keeping track of it. I'm really not concerned about the $1.12 i was charged incorrectly. You are nickle diming me instead of thanking me for making you aware of a glitch in the system. So now i will consider forgetting about being your bike angel. I have taken time to write you and call you about this situation. That i would calculate as worth $20 of my time. I dont think ill make the effort for you any longer.
Algorithm set up to not gain 3x boost points 1 after another
This morning there were a lot of 9 x boost points surrounding me, so I thought why not move a few bikes and gain some quick points (I have 3 x boost, so lots of stations showed 9 x points) I moved 1 bike and got the 9 points, then instantly all the stations what were just moments before had 9 x points had reduced mostly 3 x points (1 point, plus my 3 x boost) there was 1 station what had 6 x points, so I walked there. The station which had 6 points as soon as I unlocked the bike had reduced to 3 x points even though the station didn't have 1 dock available it was full to capacity. It’s clear this corporation has no intention of making it easy to make a lot of points quickly, which is sad as my area is still full of bikes, no one around here can park a bike.Low down on the slow down
Don’t understand why you lowered of the Cosmo electric bikes speeds – even though the city has not actually passed a 15 mph limit, you want ahead and lowered them. Citibike riders are probably not the majority of the problem, it’s delivery bikes that go flying down the street or sidewalks at over 15 mph, or scooters zipping in bike lanes at 30 miles an hour. Or cars speeding. It’s really frustrating when I’m riding an E bike and someone on a classic flies past me, or when I’m trying to get up a bridge and I feel that speed governor kick in, or come down the other side and feel like I’m dragging a parachute behind me. Oh wait, lowering the speed by over 8% means that it takes me 8% longer to get to my destination, which means my ride is 8% longer, which makes you 8% more money… And why is it so hard to log into to this site to post? Why can’t I just enter my login and password- instead I have to enter my cell phone, get a text, copy & paste that code, enter my e-mail, click Accept – it’s a lot easier to log into my bank website than it is to post something here!
Less Bike Angels in NYC these Days?
In my area last summer/fall I used to see a handful of the same Bike Angels moving bikes around all day. Since the Spring I don't see them anymore. Saw one yesterday and he said he stopped since cash incentive went down. He said him and the others were doing it as a living. I also noticed that the bike movement in my area has gotten stale. I just move bikes to subsidize electric bike costs. Interested to know if the bike movement has stayed the same or gotten worse (my observation) since this award policy change? I would Lyft is losing money since they have to hire more company people to move the bikes now. Thanks!Improve initial acceleration for low assist e-bike rides
When Lyft rolled out low assist mode in Sept 2023 in NYC it was described as follows: "Low assist mode feels like and costs the same as a classic bike". I find that the low assist mode experience on the current silver e-bikes can range from pleasant to downright dangerous and Lyft needs to take steps to lower the risk of injury to their customers when using this mode. Furthermore, the low assist mode is noticeably challenging on low-battery e-bikes, or, worst-case, makes the ride completely unrideable for poorly maintained e-bikes with chain or motor issues. Specifically, the static acceleration on the e-bikes in low assist mode can be so weak on the current 80-pound bike that it can cause injury when riding on a moderate or steep hill due to loss of horizontal balance when coming to an unexpected stop (something that I've personally experienced several times over the past 2,279 rides over 14 months). It also increases the likelihood of an accident due to how long it can take for the bike to get up to speed at an intersection to match the flow of traffic. To address these issues I'm asking that Lyft increase the initial acceleration for e-bikes in low assist mode to counteract the weight and improve balance of the bike when climbing moderate/steep hills and when pushing off from a full stop. For example, if low assist were to currently provide a constant 15% of max power from 0-15mph, I'd like to see at least 30% percent for 0-6mph and then 15% thereafter. If technical limitations don't allow for a dynamic acceleration curve to be set based on the current speed then I propose to increase the constant acceleration power for the full 0-15mph range from 15% to 20-25% of max power.
Membership extension granting only 28 days, not 30
The past 2 or 3 months, my membership extension Bike Angels option has only been granting 28 days at 4x extensions instead of 30 days. The 4th extension in a month is supposed to grant 9 days instead of 7, but that has not been the case. I am not sure what exactly might have prompted this change on my end - maybe I disabled auto-renew on my membership, but my membership is still 'active'; it could also be that the last few months, I redeemed the weeks separately instead of all at once. This month, I redeemed 3 extensions at once (21 days) and then the 4th one later (supposed to be 9 days but was 7). Has the policy changed yet again? The FAQ and webpages still reference the 30 day policy: https://community.bikeangels.com/kb/basics/bike-angels-faq/38: Weekly membership extensions are still available, and earning 80 points will now unlock a full calendar month (instead of just 4 weeks). https://citibikenyc.com/bike-angels/rewards: Membership extension (20 points): Extend your membership from your original renewal date. Redeem up to 4 weeks each month. When you redeem the fourth week, we’ll extend your membership for a full 30 days. If not, how can I get this resolved and get my missing days?New 15MPH Limit in NYC? Reduced Charge?
NYC just programed the pedal assist Citibike e-bikes to a max speed of 15MPH (down from 18-20?). I used them this weekend and clocked the max speed on my Strava at 15.5MPH on a flat road. Felt a lot slower. I used the regular blue CitiBike on the same routes and clocked speed at 13-15MPH. For me I do Bike Angels primarily to earn e-bike credits. Now that the ride is fairly similar I probably will not use the ebikes as much given the cost difference. Especially since it seems harder to earn points these days. Also Lyft should (but probably wont)reduce the per minute fee for ebikes since you are getting a lesser service.
