Idea: Always Offer Low-assist option for eBikes (next-gen)
As many riders know, the low-assist mode for next-gen eBikes is only available if there are no classic/acoustic bikes at the station. When you then scan the eBike using the app you choose between low assist and full assist. Citi Bike ought to offer the option of low assist for next-gen eBikes regardless of the presence of a classic/acoustic bike to accommodate. If you agree with this idea, please like this post to show your interest to the Bike Angel team. For me there are two reasons why I'd like to see this: Classic bikes have seats that don't go high enough for riders 6'1 or taller which can lead to knee pain for long or uphill rides. Next-gen bikes allow for the seat to move higher but more often than not I have to pay for this privilege because there are classic bikes at the station. On more than one occasion I don't get the pedal assist option for eBikes because there's one classic bike at a broken dock that can't be removed so I'm forced to pay for a full power eBike ride when I don't want to/shouldn't have to. To streamline the experience, this should be an opt-in option so that full-assist riders used to scanning and riding aren't burdoned by having to choose full-assist each time. Lastly, in conjunction with this idea, please offer users the pedal assist preference via the iPhone and Android apps (under Settings). For some reason it is only offered via https://account.citibikenyc.com/profile after logging into your account making it frustrating and confusing for riders who primarily use the app and can't find anywhere to update their preference:Improve the Citi Bike Map
Problem: In the Citi Bike map (in the app) it is almost impossible to tell traffic flow direction for streets when browsing the map, an arguably important piece of information when biking in NYC. Similarly, reading street names is just as hard with them only appearing if you zoom in almost all the way! The green bike lane lines cover the street arrows which indicate the direction of traffic (I've circled two arrows that are being covered). Also, only two street name labels are showing here: Suggestions: Make it easier to see the traffic flow arrows by either making the direction arrows easier to see (change color, size, etc) or allow users to toggle the green bike lane overlay on the map on and off Make it easier to see/read street names and prioritize them over places of interest Add a toggle to show/hide places of interest on the map (restaurants, hotels, stores, etc) Lastly, an argument against improving the current experience might be to user the "directions" feature which will give you a correct route but to that I say that sometimes we just want to do an ad-hoc bike ride. Secondly, bike angels (like me) would love to better see street names and traffic flow directions I don't really use the directions feature because there's no way to simply put a pin on the map or tap on a station as your start and end address; we must type in the address which is time-consuming.
Addressing Service Disparities in Citi Bike: A Personal Perspective from Eastern Queens
The NYC Comptroller's office recently published a report titled "Riding Forward: Overhauling Citi Bike’s Contract for Better, More Equitable Service" highlighting performance disparities within the Citi Bike program. One key issue identified is the disparity in service levels between the Manhattan core and the outer boroughs, particularly in neighborhoods predominantly inhabited by Black and Hispanic residents. I want to share my personal experience supporting this issue. As a frequent rider starting in eastern Queens, I often encounter a lack of available dock space at nearby stations. Unlike the midtown commuting stations, which are regularly drained and repopulated, these stations remain perpetually full. This morning's view is a case in point: Many stations are completely full, which artificially suppresses demand as it becomes impossible to dock bikes. Additionally, some stations show 1 or 2 available docks on the app, but in reality, they are also full, misleading the algorithm and exacerbating the problem. I downloaded the real-time GBFS status at 6 AM this morning and examined a random station (99 St & 38 Ave) as a boundary. There are 51 stations to the east of this station, 19 of which are completely full (excluding stations falsely showing 1 or 2 available docks). That's 37% of stations being unusable, far exceeding the 2% or 4% requirement per Citi Bike's contract with the City. If I explored further, this percentage could easily rise to 50%. These 19 full stations have 411 bikes docked. These bikes are underutilized compared to others. By redistributing just half of these bikes (around 200) to Manhattan, we could potentially increase revenue by $36,000 per month (based on May 2024 figures). This issue is not isolated to Queens; Red Hook, lower Manhattan, and other outer boroughs face similar neglect. We're likely missing out on hundreds of thousands of dollars in revenue due to inefficient bike usage. Additionally, addressing this problem could help avoid potential penalties. Citi Bike uses a combination of trucks, treks, and Angels to rebalance bikes, but this effort seems absent in my neighborhood. Community outreach to increase usage is futile if Citi Bike remains unusable for these residents. One possible solution is to adjust the Angel reward program to prioritize redistributing bikes from congested areas. However, the current point system incentivizes Angels to work in Manhattan, where they can earn 12-15 points by moving bikes a few blocks, as opposed to half a mile or more in congested areas. I would love to hear from the program managers at Citi Bike about their thoughts on this issue and potential solutions to address it.
Nearly empty, and empty stations should not have pickup points
Some stations, like the ones I pictured here are almost completely empty for hours! I check back every 15 mins, yet they aren't neutral (no points) or have drop off points...but they have pickup points. This makes no sense. This is clearly a systemic, repeatable issue that could be fixed with a bit code. by the time someone with authority reads this, I'm sure these stations points and state will be different, but my point is clear, these nodes consistently occur and I believe they should be addressed, it would make angeling easier. starting off we have a station with 0 bikes yet has pickup points.. Next: Next: Next: Next: Next: Next:
Capping Citibike ebikes Charge at $2.90?
I personally prefer to take an ebike sometimes instead of the subway, especially if going somewhere far. From my experience it is the fastest and most predictable way to get from point A to B. This was also demonstrated in a NYT article on getting from Time Square to LGA. However, the biggest negative is the charge. A 20+ min ride is $5+. It would be great if the ebike fee was capped at the same rate as the subway, $2.90 as long as under a certain time frame. I understand that Lyft needs to cover their costs, but the MTA just generated $159 million in the 1st quarter of 2025 from congestion pricing. I am not sure if any of these revenues are planned to help fund Citibike, especially ebikes. If not might be a good idea to help cap the ebike fee. Thoughts?Discontinue Lifetime Achievement Rewards?
I joined Bike Angels when it first started. Back then my motivation was to extend my membership and get the rewards. At that time the rewards had some value, like a special metal key FOB. Was like be eligible for a metal credit card, made you feel special. Motivated me to go to a further dock with points. I just hit 3000 points and got the gloves and pin. With all do respect, these gifts are crap and have little value to me. I have no motivation or excitement to receive any future level gifts, the backpack looks like more cheap stuff. I suggest doing away with this program or make the rewards better. I would rather that you give me extra points I can use on e bikes or extensions...or something else of real value instead of Lyft money and resources wasted on this cheap merchandise. (Especially with increased tariff costs) Thanks for reading. Any other ideas/feedback?
Streak system issues and potential tweaks
As a casual bike angel, I’ve recently come across a particular annoyance I’ve had with the current streak system that has the potential to penalize riders for taking more positive rides earlier in the day rather than spreading them out. Here’s a situation that happens to me often, and causes me to lose my streak by taking extra rides. If it’s the early evening and I have one more positive ride required to reach my goal, the situation often arises that after taking the ride, my schedule the following day is shifted later, causing me to be unable to reach 4 rides before that same time in the early evening. Thus, I often will take a neutral ride and delay that last positive ride to later in the day in order to be able to reach the goal by the end of the next day. Ideally, I would just be able to complete 4 rides during every calendar day to keep my streak, and not have to worry about shifting the schedule or changing the times of my rides so that my streak resets at the same time every day. Here are a few ways I’ve come up with to make that possible: Personal Favorite - Completing the 4 rides could extend the timer by 24 hours instead of resetting it. Streak time would max out at 2 or 3 days (maybe more?). Going from 2x to 3x would still reset the timer, not add 24 hours. Pros: Doesn’t penalize riders for completing 4 rides early in the day, or in quick succession Gives extra rewards to riders who complete more than 4 rides per day in the form of extra time Riders can build up time and take a short break without resetting their streak. Cons Time of day of rides is still an issue, but can be easily mitigated by grinding to reach 48 hours, then taking 4 rides per day. Alternate solution: taking 4 positive rides extends the streak for the entire next calendar day Pros Taking 4 positive rides every day is guaranteed to continue my streak Cons Could be worse for night angels, or people who ride at weird times depending on when the timer resets. Taking 4 rides early would give almost 48 hours of streak time, taking them late would give only slightly more. There is a discrepancy based on ride time of day, which is not ideal. Alternate Solution 2: Every positive ride resets the timer, assuming the last 4 rides taken (including the ride in question) were positive, and taken within 24 hours. Pros Very similar to current system, just not favoring every 4th ride Wouldn’t allow more than 24 hours of streak time (maybe a con) Definitely better than the current system but not ideal Cons Streak could be reset if rides were early one day but late the next, this was already a problem though.
