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 eBikesregardless 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.
Too many E-Bikes at high elevation stations
Ever since the new policy that ended our ability to get free e-bikes on stations with no regular bikes (seehttps://nyc.streetsblog.org/2023/09/19/say-good-bye-to-the-free-citi-bike-e-bike-loophole)I've noticed that certain stations have been accumulating a lot of E-bikes that don't leave the station. This happens more often on high-elevation stations- clearly people want to take e-bikes up a hill, but no one wants to take them down. Here is a picture of a station in Morningside Heights: I know that you can ride E-bikes with "reduced power" after all the regular bikes are gone, but in my experience this is rather unpleasant. I think Citi Bike needs to reconsider this new policy.
Rewards for "stolen" or "lost" bikes?
I have seen bikes on the streets--though usually sidewalks--of New York City--that are either lost stolen abandoned misplaced Once, I spotted one of these "misplaced" bikes and returned it to a station, but I want to know if there is any incentive available for me return this bikes.Max points given to drop off bikes at FULL station for most of the day
Since I started as a bike angel in March 2024 I've noticed that the point algorithm, for most of the day, is awarding max points for dropping off bikes at the Manhattan station at E 47 St & Park Ave, which has114 bike docks.Seems like a great point opportunity with so many stations around it awarding pick-up points, right? Wrong, the station is completely full by 8am and the valet attendant will scold you if they suspect you're a bike angel dropping off bikes to earn points. I was told by the valet that my account would get banned if I kept bringing bikes. This is a long-standing algorithm bug which makes a bad problem of dock availability even worse and should be reviewed by the bike angel team. The fix is conceptually simple: the station ought to award points to pick-up bikes from this station to improve the lack of available docks, even with a valet present. Here's a screenshot showing the completely full station is awarding max points to drop off bikes: The completely full station remains a max point drop-off station half an hour after the valet has left: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 fail
Easier way to contact support for Angels
Can there be an easier way for Angels to contact customer support? The options in the app are insufficient, even for regular reports of issues (but that's a whole other topic). Since we are riding far more than a regular user, we are more likely to come across problems. From my phone, it's not always easy to report those problems, so I make a note, take a picture, and save it for later when I can submit a ticket with Lyft. This, unfortunately, has resulted in amassing a long list of issues I need to report. Not only that, but because of how replies are received from support, I have to keep track of the tickets, otherwise I won't know which one they are talking about. Or if they haven't replied (which reminds me that I need to follow up again on tickets from June/July...). I realize some of this is specific to me and that I need to take the time to contact support. But that's just it, why do I have to take time to contact support? Why can't I quickly and easily do it right in the app at the time support needs to be contacted? Like dispute a charge because there's an issue? For example, that would have been useful the time I was charged for a ride AND out of station parking on a scooter that would not unlock - I reported an issue in the app so the unlocking issue can be addressed, but you don't receive replies for those, and that doesn't resolve the charge issue that went with it. So, for 1 problem, I have to make 2 reports. A better connection between reports in the app and reports with customer support would help immensely. Too often I've had to replicate effort between reporting in the app and reporting with customer support because what I report in the app is not readily available or accessible to customer support. From my experience, the app and customer support are 2 entirely separate things, when they should be working together. I know I'm not the only one who tries to report issues outside the limited and generic ones in the app, and I'm sure everyone would like an easier way to open, see, and track tickets opened with support. Honestly, this blog is far easier to use for issues than support - at least I can see history, pictures, and receive notifications on activity, but this is not the place for support issues. I recognize this could result in customer support getting bombarded with superfluous tickets, but that's why I want to emphasize that this should be specific to Angels. An option or options that are invisible until you are an Angel, just like the points in the map and separate points/rewards page.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.
Algo limitations downtown
I'm new to point farming but enjoy the gamified aspect. I've noticed that the algo does well in Midtown and UES at showing opportunities for local rebalancing, presumably because local supply/demand varies. Bike Angels on streaks can help here. But downtown, the supply/demand imbalance often seems regional, with literally ALL docks showing the same imbalance. (For example, early mornings) When this happens, Bike Angels have no incentive to work, and bikes will only be repositioned by long-haul riders, who almost by definition are not point farmers. Does Citibike understand why this regional asymmetry exist? Can it be solved, perhaps by off-hour en masse moves to create local imbalances?
