Citi Bike ceased in-field safety inspections for 4 straight months (and stayed mum about it)

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The dotted line shows the period when Citi Bike stopped field inspections entirely.

You would think the layoff of 16 field inspectors and the complete discontinuance of checking bikes for four months, both for mechanics and for safety, would merit some kind of heads up to the DOT. Apparently not.

New York Bike Share simply stopped reporting the number and made no written mention of the layoffs. Here’s what the October 2013 report said about maintenance:

All bicycles were inspected in the field or in the depots this month...The bike shop completed 2,134 total repairs in October, including the refurbishment of 89 bicycles damaged during Sandy.

Prior to October and resuming in February, monthly reports include a hard number for in-field inspections.

Source: NYC Bike Share monthly reports

Tools: Datawrapper, Google Sheets