New York City's long-awaited and much-hyped bicycle-sharing program is finally in full operations. CitiBike is a privately owned for-profit public bicycle sharing system that serves New York City. It is the largest bike sharing program in the United States. Alta Bicycle Share was selected in September 2011 to develop and operate the system using Montreal's Bixi technology. The system, which operates without city subsidy, is named for Citigroup, which spent US$41 million to be its lead sponsor for six years.
Citi Bike began operations on Memorial Day May 27, 2013, with 330 stations in Manhattan south of 59th Street and in Brooklyn north of Atlantic Avenue and west of Nostrand Avenue. Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan christened the beginning of bike-sharing at a docking station near the Brooklyn Bridge Monday morning of its opening. Officials said the system opened with 6,000 bikes, but six weeks later, the actual number in use appeared to be less than 4,300. On June 16, 2013, riders took 25,119 trips, the largest single-day total for any North American bike-sharing system. Then on June 29, 2013, riders set another record by taking 31,464 trips in one 24-hour period. The total number of annual subscribers as of July 8, 2013 is 55,623.
The system is slated to expand to more than 10,000 bicycles and 600 stations in Manhattan south of 79th Street, plus stations in several Brooklyn neighborhoods, including Greenpoint, Crown Heights, Bedford-Stuyvesant, Park Slope and Carroll Gardens as well as parts of Queens. The cost for a grab-and-go bike is $9.95 per day, $25 per week and $95 per year. The annual membership is the best deal, but they all include unlimited rides - just pick up and drop off at any one of the locations in Manhattan (south of 59th Street) or Brooklyn (scattered in popular neighborhoods like Williamsburg). Go to Citibike website for complete information http://citibikenyc.com/
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