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For Citi Bike, a new worst moment: 122 stations completely useless at 9:30 am

Those circles with black borders? Empty, every one.

Well folks, here it is: a new Worst Moment for the Citi Bike system. At 9:30 a.m. today 122 stations were empty (108) or full (14). That’s well over one-third of all operating stations(37%).

This mark eclipses the previous Worst Moment, set last  year on Monday May 27 at 9:30 am.

Nearly half of Citi Bike stations not working at 9 am

The Citi Bike system is currently experiencing a major station crash with only 174 of 330 stations operating. Citi Bike has not yet announced the crash or the reason for it. We'll keep you posted with updates here.

Update: A second crash at 10:30. 231 of 330 stations operating. Restored by 11 am.
Update: Normal service restored by 9:10 am

There aren’t enough Citi Bikes to go around

Click here for the visualization

About the NotSpot Index

Not nearly enough bikes on the street.That’s our conclusion for the big jump in empty stations during last week’s pleasant weather.

This time last year, Citi Bike’s average fleet size was 5700 and bikes in the docks at a given moment on weekdays hovered around 4700.

Around noon Friday there were 3460 bikes in the docks -- 1300 fewer than last year.

Add this to the mix: membership hit an all-time high of 105,000 last April. The latest available membership figures (February) show a more than 15% decline to around 88,000. So there would seem to be less pressure on the system.

And a final reason for our concern. At this writing, 24 mph sustained winds are driving the rain sideways. There are only three  empty stations -- an all-time record low. And bikes in the docks stood at 3560.

So say there are 400 or so people crazy enough to ride in that stuff.  That puts the current fleet size at about 4000, a stunning 30% decline from last April’s average.

Maybe last week was just a blip. But for now, 11 straight weeks of satisfactory system performance stands as the record.

Click here for the visualization

Unlike last year, Citi Bike has it together this Spring

About the NotSpot Index

This time last year  is when the number of empty Citi Bike stations started to soar,

peaking with 96 NotSpots during the morning rush on May 27. That’s 30 percent of the system.

The NotSpot number for last week, 25, extends the unprecendented streak of statisfactory performance to 11 weeks.  The corresponding week in 2014 came in at an ugly NotSpot 45.

No more V-V-V-V-Varick St. City installing smooth bikeway on cobblestone blocks

The DOT says almost half of the cyclists on this heavily traveled route in TriBeCa are using the sidewalk to avoid the bone-jarring belgian ride.

This from the DOT’s Facebook page: 

“NYC DOT Sidewalks team completed saw cutting, excavation and laying of the concrete base on Varick St. for our first in-house granite strip that makes a Belgian block street segment smooth for cyclists! 

Learn more about this project http://on.nyc.gov/1F459bP”

New software lets Citi Bike map display which stations have died

Go to the map

One of the frustrating aspects of the Citi Bike experience was arriving at a station and making multiple attempts to take or return a bike before concluding that the whole station was kaput. Now you can avoid those stations.

The new software also allows the map to report more info about broken bikes and individual docks that have broken.

Confirmed: That weekend shutdown was to replace flaky software

To the story

An excerpt

Motivate dumped original software provider PSBC, whose problems were evident even before Citi Bike launched in 2013. The new software is being provided by 8D Technologies, a company which also supplies software for other bike share programs around the country.

The streak continues: Now 9 straight weeks in the green zone

• So, in a bow to baseball, Citi Bike is batting .667. And the streak of keeping the number of empty stations in check stands at an unprecedented nine straight weeks.

• The week did have its moments -- an out-of-control Thursday (warmest day of the week) followed by a splendid recovery on Friday.

• Rainy hours on Thursday and Wednesday afternoon were not included in calculations.

The best social media rants (so far) over the sudden Citi Bike shutdown

Secret stash

3/27 7pm

Ari Paparo ‏@aripap  13h13 hours ago

If anyone needs a #citibike during this weekend's scheduled maintenance just DM me, I've got twenty in my apartment.

Stop whining

3/27 7pm

Abraham Abreu ‏@UrbanAbe  13h13 hours ago

Oh to live in a part of #NYC where the #CitiBike outage seriously affects my mode choice.

Expect Changes On The 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, A, C, D, E, F, J, M, N, Q, R & S Trains This Weekend

3/27 6pm

Brooklyn Trending ‏@BKTrending  14h14 hours ago

So that means f*cked up subways and no @CitiBikeNYC this weekend... #NYC #MTA #Citibike  http://gothamist.com/2015/03/26/look_out_you_rock_n_rollers.php … and http://tmblr.co/Z483Gn1gvdFWv

This is really good news

3/28 3 am

maria robinson ‏@mariaro482136  5h5 hours ago

"@AlwaysActions: Citi Bikers take note: the system is shutting down this weekend. http://ny1ne.ws/QPCd3t  @NY1"bwaaaahaha!!! Great! :-)

There’s more to this than meets the eye

3/28 1 am

Andrew Poretz ‏@coachandrew  7h7 hours ago

Incredibly poor planning and notification by @citibikenyc in their all-weekend shutdown. Something's wrong with this picture.

Woe is me

3/28 1 am

Chris ‏@blueneurosis  7h7 hours ago

Me: I think I'll do the Citi Bike commute after my shift tonight.
Citi Bike: The system is being shut down for the weekend for upgrades.

Some people are too nice

3/28 12 am

Kate Yan ‏@kateyyan  8h8 hours ago

@CitiBikeNYC thanks for the three day membership extension due to the closure this weekend.

Job-training program provides more than half of Citi Bike mechanics

To the story

An excerpt

Luckily for the operators of Citi Bike, there’s one consistent place they can turn for recommendations on new hires: Recycle-A-Bicycle, a community-based nonprofit that specializes in empowering youth through job training and environmental education.

Eleven of their 20 mechanics are alumni of a Recycle-A-Bicycle program, as are two of the five mechanic supervisors on staff.

Empty Citi Bike stations in green zone for a record 8th week

About the NotSpot Index

.

• Tuesday turned to be an OK day after the morning rain, which makes the rare appearance of a day in the blue zone all the more remarkable.

• We’re becoming increasingly confident that new ownership is taking the NotSpot problem seriously. But let’s see what happens when we get a full week of Really Nice Weather.

Fleet size comes off January's low

Fleet size rebounded slightly after hitting a record low in January. In its February report, Citi Bike says fleet size will remain below average while annual maintenance continues.

One impact  of a smaller fleet is that each bike is getting worked harder. Last February, with a fleet above 5000, rides per bike per day hit a low of 1.5.  This February the fleet was 1500 bikes smaller. Total rides hit a record low and were 40,000 fewer than last February.  But rides per bike rose to 2.17 per day.

Empty Citi Bike stations down 35%, rebalancing up 164%: Looks like new owners are on the job

The number of stations that emptied out hit a record low in February. While that may come as not much of a surprise, the scope of the decline is. NotSpots dropped by 35% from last February.

And while last February’s number of bikes moved from station to station is the record low, 164% more bikes were rebalanced this time around.

Those are more indicators, along with our weekly NotSpot Index, that the system’s new owners are aggressively attacking the problem.

Note: The reported number also includes stations that are filled, but the system can go days without an instance of that happening.

Membership falls 10,000 below last year

Total membership is now running 10,000 below a year ago. While new members are tracking closely against the pattern set last year, renewals aren’t happening.

Our theory is that people who signed up last winter didn’t get much use out of the system and are waiting for spring’s arrival to renew.

Rebalance crews handle first pleasant weather with aplomb; NotSpot Index at record lows

About the NotSpot Index

• In the first week with some real bicycling weather, Citi Bike had but one bad day. The third straight day of temps in the 50s proved too much. NotSpots soared to 68 empty stations at 10:30 am Wednesday.
• Now at a record seven straight weeks in the green zone.
• Week 10 matched its 2014 counterpart.

Available bikes means the number of bikes in the docks. Fleet size would be the number of available docks plus the number of bikes being ridden at the time.

• What’s most intriguing is that Citi Bike is keeping the system relatively balanced with about 1,000 fewer bikes on the street.
• Crews ARE pumping more bikes into the system. Available bikes hit a high for the year on Thursday afternoon. And there’s been no spike in empty stations which would be a pretty good indicator that the fleet is too small.