Citi Bike Dock Issues: Need Better Reporting
I often find myself riding to stations that show available docks on the app, only to arrive and find none. Despite the app indicating available docks, the reality is often different. For instance, at 1st Ave & E 68th St on July 2nd at 11:30 am: The app showed six available spaces, but there were none. I suspect the valet left without updating the dock status. Several people were already waiting for a space to free up, while others left in frustration. Here's another example in Midtown: The app shows one but it's permanently unusable. The app allows us to report bike issues using the wrench icon, but there seems to be no way to report problems with dock stations. Is there an alternative to calling customer service for this? Perhaps the Angel program could be enhanced to address this, supplementing the bi-monthly station inspections, or we could implement a feature to correct system data inaccuracies more easily. Thanks.Big Change to the app?
There has been a big change to the Divvy app A great way to protect against losing your boost if a docking station status changed moments before grabbing a bike, was after selecting the exact docking station, scan the bike from within that open window What used to happen, if you were in danger of losing your boost, a warning would tell you. After losing my boost when I was sure about the docks status, and using the above technique, we tested, and that feature is gone. We switched from using the fob exactly for that protection, as more than a few times a "quick switch" caused us to loose boost. Does anyone remember that feature and is it in fact, gone? ThanksSpring Insights Blog
Movers & Shakers Supermember Shout Out | @bwitt bwitt joined the Bike Angels Community about a year ago, and has been a helpful addition to the community. Fun fact—@bwitt is ahead of the curve as one of the first community members from Baywheels! As we grow the community, Angels from other cities and bikeshare programs will join in the conversation here to share their experiences. Big shout out to @bwitt for their contributions to the community as we expand to feature more content for Baywheels riders and all Bike Angels. bwitt's Stats 31 Community Posts 18 Kudos Received 2,709 Lifetime Bike Rides (on our systems) 6,732 Lifetime Bike Angels Points Community Connections Hot Posts 👀💬 Most Views and Replies HoekedOnPhonics’post about how monthly rewards work received the most views and replies this Spring with 171 views, 12 replies, and 8 kudos ⭐This post helped us correct outdated information on the Capital Bikeshare Bike Angels webpage 👍😊Most Likes th’spost about points changing on the map got the most likes of any post this Spring ⭐ This post helped us find a bug that affected how points display on the map Miracle Working How the Community Improves The BA Experience Improved Onboarding for BA Program 👶 These community posts helped create unique online help resources for specific topics like: What happens if I pick up and drop off at the same station? What happens if my ride is active when points change? Uncovered Bugs 🐛 The power of the community is often found when things aren’t working as designed. The collaboration that happens here can help add context to complex issues quickly, which allows our teams to more effectively resolve bugs. Big shout out to the members below that posted in the community when things didn’t seem right. In addition to the issues discovered and solved in this Spring’s Hot Posts, 🪲 @leslie52’s post about not being able to send DMs after our site upgrade helped us fix an issue preventing members from sending private message. Bike Angels Stats All Cities | Q2 2024 114 New Community Members 1,196 Site Visits 4,224 Angels Leveled Up 1,712,969 Point-Earning Rides Longest distance point-earning ride SP936 | 14.68 miles
Divvy Cash for Points Please
Thank you. Please, implement Divvy points for cash as is available in some other markets. Please, would someone here with the ability to forward, request, argue, beg, the people who make Lyft decisions make this happen. Thank you. In a few days I banked enough points for a years worth of membership extensions. Since those days, I have not been on a Divvy Bike Angels ride. Sure, not much different than just riding for 80pts a month, but if there was a cash incentive, or some other options to redeem Lyft credits, I'd be out redistributing bikes everyday. Just saying. Thank you.Help! Major Divvy Fail
Major Divvy Fail Navy Pier, Chicago's top tourist attraction, is showing Pickup and 150 bikes But there are zero bikes there! And, because Lyft has the station at +6 points for PICKUPS, no Angels will be feeding, redistributing bikes to the station. NO. 1 tourist attraction on Sunday , the day of the NASCAR Race. Yes people are looking for bikes. Major failAddressing 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.Automatic redemptions
I have a question/complaint about some recent activity in the app. Three times in the last week, the app has redeemed points from my points bank which I did not initiate. The attached pic shows the recent items. On 6/9, 6/12 and today, 6/14, redemptions were made for Lyft credit and e-bike credit which were done without any actions on my part. I’ve now lost 40 points this week and I neither requested nor want these credits. Can I expect to lose points every few days now for credits I don’t want? How can this be stopped or blocked? On a somewhat comical note, the items are shown as “gifts” from CitiBike. Since I was forced to pay for these items they are in no way gifts.
Why do my CitiBike keys wear out?
Hi Jess, Do Citi Bike keys have an estimated lifespan? At some point years ago I received a white key as a perk, and used it for at least five or six years before it suddenly stopped working exactly a month ago. Luckily, I still had my original blue key which I then started using, and I ordered a new key as a back up. Tonight as I was out doing Bike Angle rides, my old blue key stopped working as well. Luckily the new key came in the mail a few days ago so I switched over to that, but I’m wondering how long the brand new one might last, if I should get back up for that one now. BTW, my original blue key that died tonight looks brand new, so it’s not like it’s been abused in any way. Also, why can’t I just sign into this web page with my password? Why do I need to fill out my number to have Lyft send me a text with a number, then enter that number here? What is the point of password if I can’t use it? Thanks.
