Friday, March 7, 2014

A modest proposal: How to put Citi Bike in the black

citibike_mta_taxi.jpg
A picture’s worth a thousand words.Thanks to WNYC for the image.


We think this is the first public acknowledgment that the bike-sharing system is running at a loss.


Our opinion, as painful to our wallet as it may be, is that the annual memberships are grossly undervalued.


Our use of the CitiBike system to get us around the city for necessary errands  -- trips we would have taken by subway -- meant that the $95 membership paid for itself in about three months.


Imagine the MTA saying your MetroCard will let you ride free for the next nine months.


So put MetroCards at the bike stations and phase out the memberships. The system makes money.
A lot of squawking from annual members would surprise us. New Yorkers are pretty accustomed to paying $2.50 to move their protoplasm from Point A to Point B.



1 comment:

  1. Interesting idea, but I'd rather keep an annual membership option, even if at an increased price. I'd definitely pay more; I've got 450 rides so far since launch day. Great value.

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